The specialist magazine has revealed details of the players who earn the most money in the world. Personalities such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior stand out.
Like every year, Forbes provides a detailed list of the market and scope of activity. Regarding sport, and more specifically football, The specialist magazine has drawn up a new ranking of the ten highest paid players in the world.
The table is always marked by the factor Saudi Arabia . The Middle Eastern country has strengthened its competition and continues to be at the top of everything, with Cristiano Ronaldo as a symbol . The Portuguese continues to be the undisputed leader in the ranking of the highest salaries.
The striker, who joined Al Nassr in January 2023, set a new earnings record. In all, earned about 285 million US dollars, surpassing last year’s 260 million US dollars . The distribution is 220 million on the ground and 65 at the commercial level.
In addition, Forbes also highlighted the figure obtained by Cristiano Ronaldo and classified it as a “football record”, as it is the highest figure obtained in the discipline. . Of course, this is not a general level in sport since since the report was carried out (1990), only Floyd Mayweather “has exceeded this figure in a single year”.
Messi, second
Lionel Messi It ranks second in the ranking, with revenues of $135 million. Like Ronaldo, a significant percentage comes from commercial activities linked to his image. 60 million are inside the field and 75 are outside. His arrival at Inter Miami produced something similar in MLS, which has many deals with brands around the world.
The podium is completed by Neymar who earns $110 million . His situation is quite particular since he has only played five matches with Al Hilal since his arrival in August 2023. In 2024, in fact, he has not played any. A serious injury to his meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament kept him away from the field for almost a year.
In the top 10, there are four players from the Saudi Pro League, such as Karim Benzema and Sadio Mané which reflects the investment made by the Middle Eastern country. The list is closed by personalities of the stature of Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Vinicius Junior, Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne.
The ten highest paid footballers in the world
- Cristiano Ronaldo: 39 years old, Al Nassr, Portugal. 285 million dollars (220 million on the ground and 65 million outside).
- Lionel Messi : 37 years old, Inter Miami, Argentina. 135 million dollars (60 and 75).
- Neymar : 32 years old, Al Hilal, Brazil. 110 million dollars (80 and 30).
- Karim Benzema : 36 years old, Al Ittihad, France. 104 million dollars (100 and 4).
- Kylian Mbappé : 25 years old, Real Madrid, France. 90 million dollars (70 and 20).
- Erling Haaland : 24 years old, Manchester City, Norway. 60 million US dollars (46 and 14).
- Vinicius Jr. : 24 years old, Real Madrid, Brazil. 55 million dollars (40 and 15).
- Mohamed Salah : 32 years old, Liverpool, Egypt. 53 million dollars (35 and 18).
- Sadio Mane : 32 years old, Al Nassr, Senegal. 52 million dollars (48 and 4).
- Kevin De Bruyne : 33 years old, Manchester City, Belgium. $39 million (35 and 4).
Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
