Cristiano Ronaldo, Stephen Curry Top Sportico List of 2024's Highest-Paid Athletes
Doric Sam
Feb 12, 2025
The 2024 list of highest-paid athletes was unveiled on Wednesday with a familiar name atop the list.
Per Sportico, Cristiano Ronaldo ranked in the top spot for the second straight year, earning a whopping $260 million. Golden State Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry was well below him in second place at $153 million.
At 40 years old, Ronaldo continues to perform at an incredibly high level, playing in his record sixth European Championship last year and becoming the first men’s player ever to score 900 career goals. Sportico's Kurt Badenhausen noted that he earned $215 million from his contract with Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and another $45 million from off-field endorsements and endeavors.
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Curry's 2024 earnings were a massive increase from 2023 when he earned $98.9 million. Badenhausen pointed out that the significant jump to the No. 2 spot was caused by "a bump tied to his long-term Under Armour contract extension."
The top 10 on Sportico's list of highest-paid athletes is as follows:
1, Cristiano Ronaldo ($260M)
2, Stephen Curry ($153.8M)
3, Tyson Fury ($147M)
4, Lionel Messi ($135M)
5, LeBron James ($133.2M)
6, Neymar ($133M)
7, Oleksandr Usyk ($122M)
8, Karim Benzema ($116M)
9, Kylian Mbappe ($110M)
10, Jon Rahm ($105.8M)
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Interestingly, the top 10 doesn't include any players from MLB or the NFL. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was the highest-paid NFL player at $100.4 million, ranking 12th on the list. Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani placed 21st at $72.5 million.
Unfortunately, this marked the second consecutive year that no female athletes cracked the top 100 on Sportico's list of highest-paid athletes. Tennis star Coco Gauff was the highest-paid female athlete for the second consecutive year at $30.4 million, but the cutoff this year was $37.5 million by former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.
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Cristiano Ronaldo Claims GOAT Status: 'I'm the Most Complete Player to Have Existed'
Feb 4, 2025
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - FEBRUARY 03: Cristiano Ronaldo of Al Nassr looks on during the AFC Champions League Elite match between Al-Nassr and Al Wasl at King Saud University Stadium on February 03, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images)
Never lacking in confidence, Cristiano Ronaldo chose himself this week during a discussion about the greatest soccer player of all time.
As part of an interview Monday on Spanish television show El Chiringuito (h/t ESPN's Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez), Ronaldo called himself the most complete player in history, saying:
"I'm talking about numbers. I think I'm the most complete player to have existed. In my opinion, I think it's me. I do everything well in football: with my head, free kicks, left foot. I'm fast, I'm strong.
"One thing is taste—if you like [Lionel] Messi, Pelé, [Diego] Maradona, I understand that and I respect that—but saying Ronaldo isn't complete... I'm the most complete. I haven't seen anybody better than me, and I say it from the heart."
Ronaldo, 39, is the all-time leading scorer in major professional soccer with 923 career goals, although there have been times when he has been considered somewhat one-dimensional since he doesn't contribute much defensively, nor does he set up his teammates particularly often.
The Al Nassr star argued against that narrative, though, noting that he is the most complete player due to the vast array of ways in which he is able to score.
"Who's the best goal scorer in history? It's about numbers. Full stop.
"Who's the player in history who's scored most goals with their head, their left foot, penalties, free kicks? I was looking the other day, and not being left-footed, I'm in the top 10 goal scorers with their left foot in history. And with my head, and with my right foot, and penalties. All of them."
Messi, who is second on the all-time scoring list with 850 goals, is seemingly more often considered the GOAT than Ronaldo due to his combination of scoring and playmaking.
Additionally, the current MLS star has significantly more individual accomplishments than Ronaldo does.
Ronaldo has won the Ball d'Or Award as the top player in the world on five occasions, plus he is a five-time UEFA Champions League winner, and he won the European Championship with Portugal in 2016.
Messi, 37, has won the Ballon d'Or eight times to go along with four UEFA Champions League titles and two Copa América titles with Argentina.
What perhaps sets Messi apart from Ronaldo most of all is his success in the FIFA World Cup. Messi won the World Cup in 2022, and he won the Golden Ball as the World Cup's best player in both 2014 and 2022.
A World Cup is the one major accomplishment Ronaldo has never achieved, and when considering that Messi, Pelé and Maradona all won the World Cup, it is fair to wonder if not winning a World Cup takes the Portuguese star out of the GOAT conversation.
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Champions League Draw 2025: Schedule for Knockout Phase Playoff Bracket Fixtures
Jan 31, 2025
The field for the Champions League knockout playoff round is set after Friday's draw.
This marks the first year of the new 36-club format in the league phase. The bottom 12 teams in the standings have been eliminated, with the top eight automatically advancing to the round of 16.
Friday's draw was to determine the matchups for the clubs that finished in spots nine through 24. Teams nine through 16 are seeded and face the teams in the 17-24 spots. The winners from the knockout playoff round will advance to the round of 16, where the top eight teams will be seeded.
Knockout Playoff Round Draw and Schedule (All Matches Feb. 11/12 and 18/19; start time TBD)
Liverpool ended group phase as the top team in the standings and arguably the favorite to win the Champions League title.
The Reds suffered their lone defeat in the first phase on Wednesday against PSV Eindhoven, but they were still able to hold on to the top spot because Barcelona settled for a tie against Atalanta.
Arne Slot's club has only lost three matches in all competitions this season. They've already passed several major tests, most notably a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid on Nov. 27.
The reigning Champions League champ, Real Madrid has endured some struggles so far with a 5-0-3 record to finish 11th in group play. The Whites will play a struggling Manchester City clubin the knockout round.
This marks the fourth consecutive year that Real Madrid and Man City will meet in the knockout rounds. Carlos Ancelotti's club won two of the previous three, including a 4-3 victory on penalties at Etihad Stadium in the second leg of their quarterfinal matchup last year.
The winner of this year's matchup will advance to face either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16.
Atalanta, the No. 9 seed, is the top-ranked team in the knockout phase and its first time advancing out of the group phase since the 2021-22 season. The club can tie its best-ever finish in Champions League play by reaching the round of 16.
When the knockout phase is complete after games on Feb. 18-19, UEFA will hold a draw to determine the round of 16 matchups and path to the final for the remaining clubs on Feb. 21.
The round of 16 will take place from March 4-12, followed by the quarterfinals (April 8-16) and semifinals (April 29-May 7). The 2025 Champions League Final will be held on May 31.
