New Delhi, May 16 -- Former Real Madrid and Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo topped the Forbes list of highest-paid athletes in 2025 for the third consecutive time with an earning of whopping USD 275 million (approximately Rs.2356 cr) between May 2024 and May 2025. This was also his fifth time topping the Forbes list overall.

Forbes published a list of top 50 with the total earning estimated at record USD 4.23 billion (approximately Rs.36238 cr) - a substantial increase from last year's USD 3.88 billion (approximately Rs.33240 cr).

Ronaldo's on-field rival Lionel Messi sit fifth in the table at USD 135 million (approximately Rs.1157 cr). Unfortunately, no female athlete made the list with American tennis star Coco Gauff missing ...