Forbes' top ten highest-paid footballers: Ronaldo on the top again, Messi earns the most from sponsors

Enormous investments by the Saudi state in 2023 attracted numerous world stars to the Middle East. When we add to that the loudest departure of a player to the soil of the USA, we get, at least at first glance, a rather changed picture of the football world.

Maybe the destination of the richest masters of the game has changed in the last year, but there have been mostly the same people at the top of the Forbes list for years. One of the most successful business magazines in the world traditionally reveals to us at this time of the year a list of the ten highest-paid footballers, adding together the income collected from the club they play for and from sponsors.

1. CRISTIANO RONALDO (Al-Nassr) - $260,000,000 (200,000,000 + 60,000,000)

Although he is only a few months away from his 38th birthday, Cristiano Ronaldo is still by far the highest-paid footballer on the planet, and according to the contract with Al-Nassr, the club from Riyadh pays him 200,000,000 dollars a year. Off the field, the legendary Portuguese collects about 60,000,000 dollars, and the latest sponsorships, such as those with the companies Herbalife, Clear and Binance, contributed significantly to that figure. This is the sixth time in the last ten years that the former star of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus has topped the list, and he returned there after two years, as the title of the highest paid in 2022 was taken from him by Kylian Mbappe.

2. LIONEL MESSI (Inter Miami) - $135,000,000 (65,000,000 + 70,000,000)

The sum total of earnings of the Argentine magician is far less than his biggest competitor for the title of the best player in the world in the previous fifteen years. Nevertheless, Messi can be proud of the fact that he is still the biggest magnet for sponsors, since in this way he earns as much as 70,000,000 dollars a year. The entire MLS league has become drastically more popular on a global level, and it's not just Inter Miami that has been affected by the superstar's arrival in Florida. As part of the so-called Messimania, even the Chicago Fire, for example, earned over 7,000,000 dollars from the sale of tickets in breaking the club's record, when perhaps the best player in history arrived at Soldier Field.

Ronaldo's maths: 857+38=1,000

3. NEYMAR (Al-Hilal) - $112,000,000 (80,000,000 + 32,000,000)

In one of the loudest transfers of the previous summer, the Brazilian replaced the French capital with the Saudi one, and his new club Al-Hilal is paying him $80,000,000 a year. From Puma, Konami and Red Bull, he gets the most money off the field, and the 32,000,000 he earns in that way is enough to be among the top three again. His performances in Saudi Arabia are not yet at the prominent level, and the disagreement with coach Jorge Jesus significantly reduces the possibility for afruitful cooperation.

4. KYLIAN MBAPPE (Paris Saint-Germain) - $110,000,000 (90,000,000 + 20,000,000)

If the investments of the controversial Saudi PIF (Public investment fund) had not caused tectonic disturbances in the player market, and if Messi had not decided on a future in America, Mbappe would once again be the highest-paid player in the world. As the situation unfolded from month to month, it was clear that Mbappe would not be able to compete with Ronaldo and Messi by staying at PSG, while Neymar remained just above the Frenchman, who hopes to move to Real Madrid next summer.

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5. KARIM BENZEMA (Al-Ittihad) - $106,000,000 (100,000,000 + 6,000,000)

Of the five highest-paid players in the world, as many as four perform outside of Europe, and in the case of Benzema, the fact is that he earned huge earnings at Al-Ittihad with his playing skills. However, it must also be admitted that the officially best football player in the world in 2022 is nowhere near as popular in marketing as Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar... since he earns "only" 6,000,000 dollars a year off the field.

In the second half of the ten highest paid, many more players from European clubs found their place. No matter how strange it sounds, maybe a little out of place, the figures show that the best teams from Europe are now only in the second echelon of serious football investments. Admittedly, it should be said that the sixth-placed Erling Haaland only expects an influx of significant money from the contract signed with Nike the previous spring from 2024.

6. Erling Haaland (Manchester City) - $58,000,000 (46,000,000 + 12,000,000)

7. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - $53,000,000 (35,000,000 + 18,000,000)

8. Sadio Mane (Al-Nassr) - $52,000,000 (48,000,000 + 4,000,000)

9. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) - $39,000,000 (35,000,000 + 4,000,000)

10. Harry Kane (Bayern) - $36,000,000 (26,000,000 + 10,000,000)