Former Man Utd star Cristiano Ronaldo’s new salary compared to Messi and other sport stars’ earnings

Cristiano Ronaldo is now on the lookout for a new club, but any likely club is going to have to fit a huge pay packet.

Ronaldo became a free agent recently after his controversial interview with Piers Morgan, leading to Manchester United’s decision to release the superstar through a mutual agreement. The Portuguese superstar fell out of favour with Erik ten Hag this season, and he was left furious with the club, claiming that senior staff members were trying to ‘push’ him out.

After the huge fallout, he is left clubless as he competed at the World Cup in Qatar with Portugal, and there have been plenty of reports over who his next club may be. Now ageing, and with huge salary expectations, Ronaldo is not a risk-free investment by any means, though there are claims Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr have made an offer worth a whopping £173million-per-year.

That would make Ronaldo the highest earner in world football, passing Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi on the way. With that in mind, we have taken a look at some of the world’s biggest earners in sport. Just note, these earnings are salary-only and do not include endorsements or sign-on bonuses, and given Ronaldo is jobless currently, the figure for him is based on his last deal, with United.

Take a look below...

Canelo Alvarez - £70.9m

Lionel Messi - £65.2m

Kylian Mbappe - £42.5m

LeBron James - £34.3m

Neymar Jr - £58.3m

Cristiano Ronaldo - £50m

Stephen Curry - £38.2m

Kevin Durant - £35.1m

Giannis Antetokounmpo - £33.2m

Tom Brady - £26.6m

It’s not clear whether Ronaldo would earn the reported figures in salary alone with Al-Nassr, but either way, it seems the Portuguese superstar would rocket above Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez at the top of the list should he accept the offer.

*List via Forbes