- Who
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- What
- 136,000,000 US dollar(s)
- Where
- Not Applicable ()
- When
According to estimates published by Forbes, the highest-earning male footballer of 2022–23 was Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), who reportedly earned $136 m (£107.5 m) in the 12 months up to 1 May 2023.
This also put Ronaldo in first place in the Top 50 list of the highest-earning athletes in the same period.
Ronaldo joined the Saudi club Al Nassr on 1 January 2023. According to Forbes, Ronaldo's off-the-pitch income from endorsements with brands such as Nike provided the lion's share ($90 m) of his earnings over the 12 months. He also generates income via his own clothing and cosmetics line, CR7.
The next two highest-earning footballers (and also athletes) of the year were fellow strikers Lionel Messi (Argentina) on $130 m (£102.7 m) and Kylian Mbappé (France) on $120 m (£94.8 m).
