Cristiano Ronaldo tops Lionel Messi as highest-earning athlete

Cristiano Ronaldo has been crowned the world’s highest-earning athlete for last year, narrowly edging out long-time rival Lionel Messi, who finished third.

The Sun reports that the world’s top ten highest-paid athletes for 2024 have been revealed, based on stats from bestbettingsitesoffers.co.uk. Cristiano Ronaldo unsurprisingly tops the list, but the size of his lead is remarkable; at 40 years old, he earned £192.4 million ($260m), nearly double Lionel Messi’s £99.9 million ($135m).

Golfer Jon Rahm is second with £161.3 million ($218m), while the list also features football stars Kylian Mbappe (6th, £81.4m), Neymar (7th, £79.9m), Karim Benzema (8th, £78.4m), and NBA stars LeBron James (4th, £94.9m) and Steph Curry (9th, £75.4m).

The report notes that Messi earns more off the pitch than on it, thanks to his global brand, one of only two athletes on the list with that distinction. Despite this, he still trails Ronaldo by a wide margin, as the two football legends continue their financial and sporting rivalry.

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