Runner-up to Floyd Mayweather for the 2010s crown, Cristiano Ronaldo has emerged as the top-paid athlete of the 2020s. The decade opened with Roger Federer topping the Forbes list, followed by Conor McGregor in 2021 and Lionel Messi in 2023.

Since 2024, Ronaldo has dominated the rankings, earning $275 million (£206.7m) in 2025 alone, thanks in part to a big-money move to Saudi Arabia.

In October 2025, the Portuguese soccer star was widely reported to have become the first active team-sport athlete to surpass a $1 billion (£752m) net worth, a milestone that cements his financial supremacy in the current decade.

Now meet the richest sportspeople under the age of 30

The highest-earning sports star in every decade since the 1920s