Billionaire Ronaldo tops Forbes footballer rich list again

Portugal large Cristiano Ronaldo erstwhile again topped the Forbes highest-paid footballers database for the 2025-26 season, arsenic 1 of 3 members of the apical 10 plying their commercialized successful Saudi Arabia.

It is the sixth clip successful the past decennary that Ronaldo has topped the Forbes database and comes conscionable implicit a week aft Bloomberg announced that the 40-year-old had go football’s archetypal billionaire.

With on- and off-field net of an estimated $280 million, Al Nassr’s Ronaldo volition gain much than treble that of second-placed rival Lionel Messi, whose $130 cardinal estimation is made up of much off-field net than those from playing for his American nine Inter Miami.

Next up is French erstwhile Ballon d’Or victor Karim Benezema, who earns $104 cardinal a twelvemonth acknowledgment to his immense declaration astatine Saudis Al Ittihad.

The 3rd subordinate of the apical 10 playing successful Saudi Arabia is Senegalese guardant Sadio Mane, a teammate of Ronaldo’s who earns an estimated $54 cardinal successful eighth.

The fig of players from Saudi clubs successful the apical 10 compared to a twelvemonth agone has dropped by 1 arsenic Brazil’s Neymar near Al Hilal successful January to instrumentality to his boyhood club, Santos successful Sao Paulo.

He had been 3rd connected the database with $110 cardinal successful 2024-25 but present seemingly earns a paltry $38 million, mostly from off-field contracts.

Despite the powerfulness and wealthiness of the English Premier League — whose clubs spent a grounds £2.6 cardinal ($3.5 billion) connected transfers successful the summertime model — lone 2 players from that contention marque the apical 10 with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland 5th and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah seventh.

But it is Spain’s La Liga that has the astir representatives successful the apical 10, including 3 Real Madrid players successful Kylian Mbappe (fourth), Vinicius Jr (sixth) and Jude Bellingham (ninth).

While the 4th subordinate from Spain is Barcelona’s teenage starlet Lamine Yamal, who is 10th with $43 million.

“Combined, the world’s 10 highest-paid shot players are acceptable to gain an estimated $945 cardinal during the 2025-26 campaign,” Forbes said successful a statement.

The station Billionaire Ronaldo tops Forbes footballer affluent database again appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.