Forbes list reveals top 10 richest athletes in the world in 2024 as Lionel Messi slips in rankings after MLS move

The annual list of the world's top 10 highest-paid athletes has been released by Forbes.

For the first time in history, those who feature on this year's standings pocketed more than $100 million each, a figure that translates to a record-breaking $1.38 billion combined.

So who made the list? For the fourth time in his career, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world's highest paid athlete after earning an estimated $260 million – an all-time high for a footballer.

The 39-year-old forward, who is said to earn an annual salary of around $200 million at Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr, has also raked in $60 million from off-field activities.

Forbes name crypto exchange company Binance and fitness app Erakulis as partners he has plugged to his 629 million Instagram followers – not to mention Nike, Herbalife and Clear Haircare.

Following closely behind Ronaldo in the standings is golfer Jon Rahm, who earned an estimated $218 million.

The 29-year-old Spaniard signed a lucrative contract worth a reported $350 million with LIV Golf in December and has earned $6.6 million from seven tournaments in 2024.

Lionel Messi, meanwhile, makes up the top three on $135 million, with on-field earnings totalling $65 million and off-field $70 million.

Image credit: Getty

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, who has a base salary of $12 million at Inter Miami – although he is also entitled to an extra $8.4 million through signing-on fees and bonuses – has added Lowe’s to a group of sponsors that includes Adidas, Apple and Konami.

In terms of the rest, LA Lakers star LeBron James is placed fourth with earnings of $128.2 million, while Giannis Antetokounmpo [$111m], Kylian Mbappe [$110m], Neymar [$108m], Karim Benzema [$106m], Stephen Curry [$102m] and Lamar Jackson [$100.5m] make up the list.

In addition to those in the top 10, Canelo Alvarez [$85m], Anthony Joshua ($83m) and Tyson Fury ($50m) are the only three boxers featuring in Forbes' top 50 highest-paid athletes list for 2024, according to Michael Benson.

Canelo is 14th on the list while Joshua and Fury follow in 16th and 42nd respectively.