Saul “Canelo” Alvarez established himself as one of the world’s highest-paid athletes in 2025, surpassing Lionel Messi in the earnings ranking compiled by Sportico.
With $137 million, the Mexican boxer took second place, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo, who led the list with $260 million thanks to his contract with Al Nassr and his sponsorships.
The ranking compiled by Sportico gathered the world’s 100 highest-paid athletes, who totaled more than $6 billion in earnings during 2025. The list included players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, as well as Canelo Alvarez.
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Canelo Alvarez Surpasses Messi in 2025 Highest-Paid Athletes List
The study of the world’s highest-paid athletes combines salary, sports prizes, and commercial contracts.
Soccer is the sport with the greatest presence in the top 100, with 13 representatives, although only three managed to place within the overall top ten.
The complete list placed Canelo Alvarez above the Argentine star with a total of $137 million. Furthermore, the ranking revealed that American sports dominate the top with figures from MLB and the NBA.
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What Is the Ranking of the World’s Highest-Paid Athletes?
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer) – $260 million
- Canelo Alvarez (Boxing) – $137 million
- Lionel Messi (Soccer) – $130 million
- Juan Soto (Baseball) – $129.2 million
- LeBron James (Basketball) – $128.7 million
- Karim Benzema (Soccer) – $115 million
- Stephen Curry (Basketball) – $105.4 million
- Shohei Ohtani (Baseball) – $102.5 million
- Kevin Durant (Basketball) – $100.8 million
- Jon Rahm (Golf) – $100.7 million