Cristiano Ronaldo has overtaken Lionel Messi at the top of Forbes’ list of the highest-paid footballers in the world, with the Manchester United star earning £91.5million this season.
Ronaldo and Messi, two of the highest-profile players in the world today, both made transfer moves this summer to United and Paris Saint-Germain respectively during a busy window.
Messi’s move toFrench giants PSG will see him earn £80.5m this season but his earnings are very much short of Portuguese star Ronaldo, 36, who made his return to Manchester after 12 years playing away from Old Trafford. Ronaldo’s Red Devils deal will see him earn £51.25m in basic salary and add-on bonuses, with the rest of his package coming from endorsements, including sponsorship.
Argentina star Messi, meanwhile, has a higher basic salary and bonus structure than Ronaldo – earning £54.94m per year – but he only collects £25.6m in annual sponsorship payments, compared to Ronaldo’s yearly sum of £40m.
Had Messi stayed at former club Barcelona this summer, with the Spanish giants letting him leave on a free transfer as they could not afford to keep him, he would have easily been named as Forbes’ highest-paid footballer as his total earnings in Spain sat at £95.24m per year.
The 34-year-old was handed a £71m a year package by Barcelona last season but the Catalans let him go just before they announced a debt of £1.15billion last month.
Both Messi and Ronaldo will earn less this season than previous years, despite earning brand new contracts following their moves.
Ronaldo was just behind Messi on last season’s list released in May of this year, earning a £87.91m overall package including endorsements.
Messi’s PSG team-mates Neymar and Kylian Mbappe sit third and fourth on the list respectively, with the Brazilian signing a new £54.95m a year contract in May, meaning he earns the same amount as Messi in terms of basic salary.
However, Neymar picks up slightly less money than Messi in endorsement fees, with the Brazilian earning £14.65m in this category.
Mbappe, whose PSG contract runs out at the end of this season, earns £31.5m a season, including £20.5m from PSG in salary.
Mohamed Salah is the second best-paid Premier League player behind Ronaldo, with Liverpool’s Egyptian star earning £30m a year overall, with the vast majority of that fee coming in salary.
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski is next on the list with earning of £25m while 37-year-old Andres Iniesta is the seventh-highest paid player in the world despite playing for Japanese club Vissel Kobe, who pay him £22.7m in basic salary.
Paul Pogba joins United team-mate Ronaldo in the top ten on £24.9m while Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale is the best-paid British player on £23.4m. His fellow Los Blancos star Eden Hazard completes the top ten on £21.25m.
FORBES TOP TEN HIGHEST EARNERS IN FOOTBALL 2021-22
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – £91.5m ($125m)
2. Lionel Messi – £80.5m ($110m)
3. Neymar – £69.5m ($95m)
4. Kylian Mbappe – £31.5m ($43m)
5. Mohamed Salah – £30m ($41m)
6. Robert Lewandowski – £26m ($35m)
7. Andres Iniesta – £26m ($35m)
8. Paul Pogba – £25m ($34m)
9. Gareth Bale – £23.5m ($32m)
10. Eden Hazard – £21m ($29m)
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