Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi is one of the biggest debates in the soccer world. These megastars have ruled the sport for more than a decade. Their intense rivalry took the hype of El-Clasico to its peak. Fans love to compare these stars over anything and everything they can, whether it’s Ballon d’Ors, trophies, wealth, or literally any statistics.
After an intense rivalry, these stars are now on fresh tracks in their career. Cristiano Ronaldo signed a deal with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia and David Beckham’s Miami heat is eying to sign Messi and bring him to play in MLS.
With almost all the records of modern soccer lying between these two megastars, it will not be an overstatement to say that both have been the pinnacle of success. They are the highest-earning soccer players and have made billions of dollars throughout their careers. Lionel Messi is worth 600 million USD while Cristiano Ronaldo lands behind with 500 million USD. However, contrary to what may appear, Ronaldo is ahead in lifetime earnings among these soccer stars.Cristiano Ronaldo is out-earning Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi has played senior soccer for 20 years at this point. His monumental earning came from his salary as a Barcelona player and deals with brands that dwarf the lifetime earning of many professional soccer players. Lionel Messi has a lifetime deal with Adidas. In 2017 Messi rocked the industry by signing a 168 million USD annual deal with his then-club Barcelona. His overall earning till the end of 2022 stand at 1.22 billion USD.
Messi’s rival Cristiano Ronaldo has also been a very high earner in the soccer world. With his earth-shattering deal with Al-Nassr this January, he will climb a place or two in the future among the highest-paid athletes of all time. But even without that 200 million-dollar-a-year deal, he lands a tad bit ahead of the Argentine magician. Ronaldo has earned 1.29 billion USD by the end of 2022.
This difference of 70 million might not seem big given the monumental scale of numbers on display here. This reflects the influence these greats have on the sport. However, even with billions in earnings, these stars are 5th and 7th on Sportico’s list of highest-paid athletes of all time. The topper of this list hasn’t played a professional competitive game in 20 years.
Highest-paid athletes of all time
This list contains players from multiple sports. One of the best golf players, Phil Mickelson, lands on the 10th with 1.03 billion USD in earnings. Following him is Roger Federer on the 9th, Floyd Mayweather on the 8th, Lionel Messi on the 7th, LeBron James on the 6th, and Cristiano Ronaldo on 5h. Golf players dominate the top of this list, with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Tiger Woods in 2nd with 1.77 billion in earnings.
On the top of this list, by a long margin, is NBA legend and Arguably the greatest ever to lace up Michael Jordan. Even after leaving NBA as a player in 2003, his earning stands at an eye-watering 2.37 billion USD. Do you think someone will ever challenge the spot of Michael Jordan? Drop your views in the comments below.
