After more than two decades in the game, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have reached a level of fame and global prominence unseen before in soccer history.
They have moved away from the top European leagues but they still remain the biggest earners in the world of soccer, much of which comes from a dazzling array of sponsorship and commercial agreements.
A new analysis from Forbes found that Ronaldo, now aged 40, remains the highest-paid soccer player in the world. The 38-year-old Messi is second, although Ronaldo’s total annual income is thought to be double that of the Argentine.
In fact, Forbes claims that only one athlete in history has topped CR7’s earnings: Floyd Mayweather. The legendary boxer earned an estimated $300 million in the year ending June 2015 and $285 million three years later.
According to the publication’s estimate, which includes base salaries, bonuses and image rights agreements with clubs, Ronaldo will earn around $280 million this year. Meanwhile Messi is expected to earn €130 million this year, with only around $20.5 million coming from his Inter Miami salary.
Former Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema completes the top three with $104 million, another beneficiary of the moneyed Saudi Arabian league. The highest-earning Europe-based player is Kylian Mbappé, who should earn around $95 million this year, between his Real Madrid contract and his business dealings.
Erling Haaland, who earns around $80 million, is fourth ahead of Vinicius Jr. with $60 million. The top ten list is rounded out by Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal, the youngest player to enter this list in the 22 years since the ranking was introduced. He has already agreed lucrative partnerships with Beats by Dre, Adidas, Konami and Powerade.
Yamal, who only recently turned 18 years old, signed a new contract with Barcelona over the summer. The seven-year deal will keep him with the club until 2031, with an annual salary of $45.3 million once all bonuses and the signing-on fee have been considered. It is an enormous commitment form the club in such a young player but Barcelona president Joan Laporta insisted that Yamal had deserved it.
“He is a special case, out of the norm, and needs special treatment,” Laporta said. “All players have kept a certain progression but a case like Lamine, who has exploded in an exceptional way, we need to address it in a special way too.
“We have to find a meeting point between the player’s interests and the club’s. What we want is to have Lamine Yamal for a lot of years, and I think that will be the case.”
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