Cristiano Ronaldo topped the ranking of the highest paid footballers in the world in 2021 according to Forbes. The ranking is published on the website of the publication.
Ronaldo will earn $125 million in the 2021/22 season, Forbes estimated. Of that amount, $70 million is salary and bonuses from returning to English club Manchester United. The remaining $55 million is advertising revenue.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi has dropped to second place in the ranking with an expected income of $110 million for the season. His salary at the new club Paris Saint-Germain will be $75 million, advertising revenues – $35 million.
Also in the top 10 highest-paid players are:
– PSG’s Brazilian Neymar – $95 million ($75 million salary, $20 million advertising revenue);
– Frenchman Kylian Mbappe of PSG – $43 million ($18 million + $15 million);
– Egyptian Mohamed Salah of Liverpool – $41 million ($25 million + $16 million);
– Pole Robert Lewandowski of Bayern – $35 million ($27 million + $8 million);
– Spaniard Andres Iniesta of Japanese club Vissel Kobe – $35 million ($31 million + $4 million);
– Frenchman Paul Pogba of Manchester United – $34 million ($27 million + $7 million);
– Welsh Gareth Bale of Real Madrid – $32 million ($26 million + $6 million);
– Belgium’s Eden Hazard of Real Madrid – $29 million ($26 million + $3 million).
In total, the top ten highest-paid players will receive $ 585 million for the current season. In 2020, the income of the top 10 players was $570 million.
The bulk of the income is salaries and bonuses – a combined $415 million, just 2.6 percent more than last season.