Sports

Messi Unveiled As World’s Highest-Paid Athlete, Followed by Lebron James, Ronaldo

Published

4 years ago

May 13, 2022

Eric

PSG and Argentina forward, Lionel Messi, has been unveiled as the world’s highest-paid athlete, with Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo made to settle for third place, reports dailystar.co.uk.

As arguably the two greatest of all-time, it is no surprise that Messi and Ronaldo are the two footballers to rake in the biggest amounts of cash. It’s not only their on-field antics that allow them to live lavish lifestyles though, with their incredible marketability allowing for various endorsements to bring in almost just as much money.

The only footballer to join Messi and Ronaldo on the top 10 list is the former’s PSG team-mate, Neymar. There are several basketball superstars raking it in, while some experienced heads from other sports have their big-money deals to thank for their growing net worth.

Forbes claim Messi made well over £100 million in pre-tax gross earnings over the last 12 months.

NBA legend, LeBron James, didn’t have a season to remember on the court as the LA Lakers missed out on the playoffs. However, the 37-year-old keeps on winning when it comes to making money.

James will have picked up a tidy pay cheque from starring in last year’s Space Jam: A New Legacy movie, more success from his YouTube talk show The Shop, and selling and re-investing in various assets.

For Ronaldo, it was a highly emotional return to Manchester United last summer, and his back pocket doesn’t seem to have taken much of a hit either, with his £500,000-per- week still paying the bills.

Now 37, the Portuguese is just as marketable as ever, boasting the most followers of anyone on Instagram with 439 million, and hundreds of millions more on his other socials. Ronaldo earns roughly the same amount on the pitch as he does off it, so even when he does decide to hang up his boots, rest assured the money isn’t going to dry up.

Neymar is clearly a forward thinking investor too, having spent around £737, 000 on buying two NFT’s from the Bored Ape Yacht Club. It’s thought Neymar now owns the most expensive of all 10,000 of the highly sought-after ape tokens, with Ape 5269 costing 189.69 ETH.

Golden State Warriors guard, Steph Curry, is the highest-paid player in the NBA after signing a contract extension last August. The three-time NBA champion makes just shy of £40 million every year thanks to his staggering on-court performances.

But the 34-year-old also clearly knows where to invest too, dabbling in NFT’s and cryptocurrency, like various other sports stars. Curry’s net worth will no doubt have received a boost from a development deal with Comcast NBCUniversal for his production company Unanimous Media.

In sixth position is Kevin Durant, another basketball icon, who earns a healthy salary being the star man for the Brooklyn Nets. But he also makes plenty of dough through his sponsorship with Nike, almost £23 million to be precise, as well as sponsorships from the likes of Coinbase and Weedmaps.

Seventh-placed Roger Federer is the undisputed GOAT of tennis. Federer hasn’t actually played a competitive match in 2022, but he’s still the seventh best-paid athlete in the world. The Swiss has deals with Uniqlo and Rolex and also invested in shoe brand ON.

Boxer, Canelo is thought to have earned around £32 million from his two pay-per-view fights before losing to Bivol.

Canelo has a number of lucrative sponsorships, but intends to build up an empire thanks to his taco restaurants and opening gas stations, while his Canelo Promotions is working with DAZN to put on fights in Mexico.

Tom Brady, who u-turned on his retirement decision, meaning he will be back in action for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2022 season, is number nine on the list. He could be forgiven for thinking seven Super Bowl rings is enough – he certainly doesn’t need the money.

To add on to his investment portfolio that includes an NFT platform, two production companies and a clothes line, Brady is also set to take up a commentator role with Fox Sports. If you were worried he might struggle in his eventual retirement, fear not, as Brady is set to earn over £300m over the next 10 years at Fox.

Nigerian-born Greek basketball superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo (Gani Adetokunbo), is the only member of the list not yet past 30. Fresh from his NBA championship success, Antetokounmpo rounds off the top 10. The Milwaukee Bucks’ two-time MVP agreed a new five-year contract in December 2020 worth a total of £186 million.

The Guardian

Sports

FIFA Lists Six Females Among 52 Referees for 2026 World Cup

Published

2 weeks ago

April 10, 2026

Eric

FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.

Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.

“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.

“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.

“In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed.”

The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the biggest in history, with a 48-team line-up and 104 matches to be played.

There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.

“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.

AFP

Sports

AFCON 2025: CAS Overturns CAF Verdict

Published

4 weeks ago

March 25, 2026

Eric

African football has been plunged into fresh uncertainty after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) provisionally suspended a controversial ruling that stripped Senegal of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarded it to Morocco.

In an interim decision issued on Monday, CAS accepted Senegal’s appeal against the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeals Board and ordered a “freeze” on the implementation of its verdict.

The move effectively places the 2025 AFCON title in legal limbo pending a full hearing.

The dispute stems from a chaotic final played in January 2026, where the Teranga Lions of Senegal defeated the hosts, the Atlas Lions of Morocco, 1–0 after extra time. The match took a dramatic turn late on when a contentious penalty was awarded to Morocco.

Although the spot kick was missed, Senegal’s players briefly walked off the pitch in protest, prompting confusion before play eventually resumed, and the match was concluded. Weeks later, Morocco’s federation challenged the outcome, citing provisions within AFCON regulations relating to match forfeiture.

On March 17, CAF’s Appeals Board ruled in Morocco’s favour, declaring that Senegal’s walk-off constituted a breach severe enough to forfeit the match. The result was overturned to a 3–0 victory for Morocco, with Senegal stripped of the title.

Senegal swiftly condemned the decision as unjust and escalated the matter to CAS, arguing that the sanction was disproportionate and undermined the integrity of the on-field result.

CAS has now sided, at least temporarily, with Senegal’s request for urgent intervention.

By granting provisional measures, the tribunal signalled that enforcing CAF’s ruling before a full hearing could cause irreparable harm, particularly in a case involving the revocation of a major continental title.

The immediate consequence is that AFCON 2025 currently has no officially recognised champion. The trophy remains unassigned while legal proceedings continue.

Sports

AFCON 2025: George Weah Urges CAS to Overrule CAF’s Verdict

Published

1 month ago

March 21, 2026

Eric

African football legend George Weah has criticised the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for stripping Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarding it to Morocco.

CAF’s Appeal Board overturned Senegal’s 1–0 victory in the Rabat final after ruling that the team’s walk-off during a late penalty incident constituted a forfeit. The result was subsequently recorded as a 3–0 win in favour of Morocco, crowning the hosts as champions.

Reacting to the decision, Weah, a former Ballon d’Or winner and three-time African Player of the Year, argued that match outcomes should be determined on the pitch, not in post-match rulings.

“In football, the referee on the pitch is the final authority. Once a match is completed, the result obtained on the field must stand,” he said.

Weah warned that overturning completed matches sets a dangerous precedent for the sport.

“There is no sporting justification to nullify a match completed under the referee’s authority.

Otherwise, we risk a slippery slope where committee decisions override on-field calls,” he added.

The former AC Milan forward further stated that the ruling undermines the integrity and credibility of African football, raising concerns over fairness and consistency.