New Delhi, May 16 (HS): Star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo ranks first in Forbes’ list of the 50 highest-earning athletes in the world for 2025. He earned $275 million between May 2024 and May 2025. This marks the third consecutive year he has topped the rankings.

The top 50 athletes collectively earned a record $4.23 billion, surpassing last year’s $3.88 billion. Lionel Messi is in fifth place with $135 million.

No female athlete is included in this list. Coco Gauff narrowly missed out with $19.2 million. Similarly, no Indian athlete is included in the rankings this year.

Top ten highest-earning athletes:

1 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Football) – $275 million

2 – Stephen Curry (Basketball) – $156 million

3 – Tyson Fury (Boxing) – $146 million

4 – Dak Prescott (NFL) – $137 million

5 – Lionel Messi (Football) – $135 million

6 – LeBron James (Basketball) – $133.8 million

7 – Juan Soto (Baseball) – $114 million

8 – Karim Benzema (Football) – $104 million

9 – Shohei Ohtani (Baseball) – $102.5 million

10 – Kevin Durant (Basketball) – $101.4 million

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar