The Real Madrid megastar has an estimated wealth of £122million, according to the annual football Rich List compiled by Goal.com.
A lucrative new five-year contract worth £86.5m, signed with Real in September, means the Portuguese came in just ahead of Messi's worth of £120.5m.
Ronaldo enjoyed a sensational 2013, scoring all four goals in a two-legged play-off with Sweden to guide his country to the World Cup finals.
He has scored a phenomenal 42 goals in 33 matches for club and country this season as Real chase a treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League.
In addition to his salary - which pays £14.3m a year - he has lucrative sponsorship deals with Nike, Armani, Castrol Edge, Jacob & Co, Herbalife, Banco Espirito Santo and KFC.
In 2013, Ronaldo launched his own line of underwear and even opened his own museum.
Because only current professionals count in the list, last year's leader David Beckham drops out after announcing his retirement last May, allowing Ronaldo to claim top spot.
Messi had an up and down year by his standards - his salary of £12.3m was eclipsed by Ronaldo, he suffered a prolonged injury absence and he was forced to appear in court to testify over alleged tax fraud.
But the 26-year-old, who has scored 22 goals in 24 matches for Barcelona this season, can expect parity with Ronaldo when his contract comes up for re-negotiation this year.
Messi's sponsorship deal with Adidas is worth £1.6million per year and he has his own range of sportswear.
He also fronts adverts for Turkish Airlines, EA Sports FIFA series, Samsung's Galaxy 11, Gillette and Gatorade.
Chelsea striker Samuel Eto'o is third on the list, with an estimated worth of £70m, largely acquired when he played in Russia for Anzhi Makhachkala.
The marquee signing of Suleyman Kerimov's club, Eto'o was paid a world record £16.5million a year.
He makes a quarter of this at Chelsea now, where he has scored nine goals so far in this campaign.
Eto'o is sponsored by Puma, Ford and fashion label John Richmond and has invested some of his cash in a collection of rare cars, including a Bugatti Veyron, two Aston Martins and a Maybach Xenatec.
Wayne Rooney sprung up the list after signing the biggest contract deal in British football history last month, with Manchester United paying him £300,000 a week for the next five years.
It means the England striker will earn close to £78m before the age of 33, not to mention his lucrative endorsements by Nike and Samsung which push his total worth to £69m.
Kaka, Neymar, Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gianluigi Buffon and Thierry Henry round off the top 10.
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