Forbes has released a list of highest-earning players of the 2021/22 season, with Cristiano Ronaldo surpassing long time rival Lionel Messi as the world’s highest-paid football player.
Ronaldo will earn $125 million before taxes in the campaign, with $70 million coming from salary and bonus. The earnings were boosted by his recent transfer to Manchester United from Juventus.
Messi follows in second with a total of $110m while Paris Saint-Germain team-mates Neymar and Kylian Mbappe and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah rounds out the top five.
In total, the top ten highest-paid players will collect pretax earnings of $585 million this season, up from last year’s $570 million.
Forbes’ top 10 highest earners in football:
Player Club Total Earnings (2021/22)
Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United $125m
Lionel Messi Paris Saint-Germain $110m
Neymar Jr Paris Saint-Germain $95m
Kylian Mbappe Paris Saint-Germain $43m
Mohamed Salah Liverpool $41m
Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich $35m
Andres Iniesta Vissel Kobe $35m
Paul Pogba Manchester United $34m
Gareth Bale Real Madrid $32m
Eden Hazard Real Madrid $29m