Ronaldo, Canelo Take Top Two Spots on Forbes Highest-Paid Athletes List
Soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo and boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez are ranked first and second, respectively, on Forbes' list of highest-paid athletes.
Andreas Hale May 22, 2026, 03:43 PM ET Close Andreas Hale is a combat sports reporter at ESPN. Andreas covers MMA, boxing and pro wrestling. In Andreas' free time, he plays video games, obsesses over music and is a White Sox and 49ers fan. He is also a host for Sirius XM's Fight Nation. Before joining ESPN, Andreas was a senior writer at DAZN and Sporting News. He started his career as a music journalist for outlets including HipHopDX, The Grammys and Jay-Z's Life+Times. He is also an NAACP Image Award-nominated filmmaker as a producer for the animated short film "Bridges" in 2024. Follow on X
_Originally reported by [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/48846143/ronaldo-canelo-messi-top-forbes-highest-paid-athletes-list)._
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