The world of sport has started 2026 with a shocking story in terms of numbers. Despite not having a victorious 2025, Canelo Alvarez has established himself as one of the highest earning athletes, surpassing legends from other disciplines.

The Mexican boxer is one of the great figures in boxing and despite having lost to Terence Crawford, the Mexican is in the top of the highest paid athletes in the world, a milestone that surprised many, as he even surpasses Lionel Messi.

Canelo Alvarez surpasses Messi

According to the latest report from specialized consultancy Sportico, Mexican boxer Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has achieved a feat that few saw coming: displacing Lionel Messi from the podium of global income, establishing himself as the second highest-paid athlete on the planet.

Alvarez closed the year with a stratospheric figure of $137 million, surpassing the Argentine star by $7 million, who was in third place with $130 million.

This is the top 5 highest paid players:

• Cristiano Ronaldo – $260 million
• Saul “Canelo” Alvarez – $137 million
• Lionel Messi – $130 million
• Juan Soto (MLB) – $129.2 million
• LeBron James – $128.7 million

Messi did not want to be the best paid in the world

Despite being surpassed by Canelo and Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi takes this issue in stride, as if he wanted to, he could be at the top of this list, but the Argentine has other priorities.

It was recently revealed that in 2023 Messi received an offer to play for Al-Ittihad and despite being offered a huge amount of money, the Argentine rejected it.

“Yes, I contacted him before, when his contract with PSG ended. I offered him 1.4 billion euros (at a rate of 400 million per season). He rejected such a large offer for the sake of his family, despite having convinced them. However, he did not hesitate to reject it because family is more important than money. I respect him, and Al-Ittihad will always open the door for him; he can come whenever he wants,” said Anmar Al-Haili, the team’s president.