By banking $105 million in the last year, soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first athlete from his sport to score $1 billion in career earnings, according to Forbes.
By hitting the $1 billion benchmark, the Portuguese star becomes just the third active athlete to hit that plateau, joining Tiger Woods and Floyd Mayweather (who technically retired from boxing in 2017, but has already shown his willingness to come back at any time for the right price).
In the last year, only Kylie Jenner ($590M), Kanye West ($170M) and Roger Federer ($106.3M) earned more than Ronaldo. Overall, the world’s 100 highest-paid celebrities earned a combined $6.1 billion before taxes and fees, a $200 million drop from 2019.
In addition to being the highest-paid soccer player, Ronaldo is also the most popular athlete on social media and saw his Instagram followers hit 200 million in 2020. His influence and earning potential extends beyond the pitch, as he also has his CR7 lifestyle brand and a hotel chain, as well as a museum in his native Madeira, ESPN reported.
Ronaldo’s rival Lionel Messi was just behind him on the Forbes list with $104 million in earnings in the last year. Another star, tennis player Naomi Osaka, brought in $37 million in income, the most money any female athlete has ever made in a single year.
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