There is no doubt that the highest-paid footballers are one of the highest-earning personalities in the sports and entertainment business. Some of the world’s biggest celebrities are football players and names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe are known by people all around the world, even by those who do not follow the sport.
These players are not only amazing footballers with incredible skills but they are also public personalities, brand ambassadors as well as fashion models. Thus, when all things considered together, it is not surprising to see some of them taking home over 100 million dollars a year. However, who is the highest-paid footballer and who are the potential candidates who might take over that spot? Let’s take a look at the top 10 highest-paid footballers in the world right now:
#10 David de Gea (Manchester United | Salary: £375k[$520k/€432k]/week)
The Manchester United first-choice goalkeeper, David de Gea, is one of the club’s highest-paid footballers. He has been a solid player for the Red Devils for several years and even now the 30-year-old has maintained his position and dominance over the goalkeeping position in the club. Of course, playing in one of the most vital positions in one of the most elite clubs in the world will pay you a lot and according to reports from Forbes, De Gea earns around 24 million dollars annually from United. This does not take into account his bonuses and thus his yearly salary could be even more. He is the world’s highest-paid goalkeeper according to Forbes however, the recent rise of Dean Henderson could push him down the ladder in a few years.
#9 Anderson Talisca (Guangzhou Evergrande | Salary: £383k[$531k/€441k]/week)
Not every top earner is from Europe, on the contrary, few of the players on this list are actually from the Chinese Super League. Talisca is a Brazilian midfielder who is only 27 years of age but is playing in Asia rather than Europe. European football is considered the best for club football and thus a talented player like Talisca moving from Benfica to Guangzhou seems quite odd, however, once you look at his weekly salary, it becomes clear to see just why he made the move.
Earning over 350,000 pounds per week, he is one of the highest-paid footballers in the world. With the Chinese Super League introducing a salary cap from next season, it would not be surprising to see talented players stop moving to the CSL in the future. The figure has been acquired from an HITC SEVENS video made in March where they make a list of all the highest-paid footballers according to their respective ages.
#8 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich | Salary: £384.6k[$533k/€443k]/week)
Getting back to one of the biggest names in European football, Robert Lewandowski, takes the number eight spot on this list. The Polish striker is considered one of the if not the best strikers in the world at the moment. His incredible tally of goals, 55 goals in all competitions, helped Bayern Munich lift the treble. He should have won the Ballon d’Or last season however, he was denied the prestigious award due to the cancellation of the event. According to Marca, the player earns around 385,000 pounds per week, making him one of the highest-paid footballers at his club. Apart from football, he also earns from sponsorships with companies such as Huawei and is also one of the biggest stars on TikTok.
#7 Oscar (Shanghai Port | Salary: £400k[$555k/€461k]/week)
Another player from the CSL and one of the highest-paid footballers in the world is former Chelsea superstar, Oscar. The 29-year-old superstar from Brazil was a sensation in the middle of the last decade when he used to play for Chelsea. With the Blues, he won a plethora of trophies and even took his club to the semi-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. However, he made a shocking decision to move away from the London side in 2017.
The midfielder made it clear in later interviews that he moved away from European football due to the money that was being offered. Oscar came from a very poor background and thus knows the hardships of living on the other end of the spectrum. According to Sportskeeda, he earns roughly 400,000 pounds a week, making him the highest-paid player in the CSL. However, his salary could be subject to change due to new regulations which will put a cap on the amount a club can pay to a foreign player.
#6 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain | Salary: £403k[$560k/€464k]/week)
Kylian Mbappe is one of the most well-recognized players in all of sports entertainment. The 22-year-old FIFA World Cup winner is also one of the highest-paid footballers in the world and the second-highest-paid player at PSG. The immensely talented youngster has been on a path to glory this season and could even secure the Ballon d’Or at the end of the season if he goes on to win the UEFA Champions League. Being such a young and talented individual, he is highly protected by PSG who gives him around 28 million dollars annually, according to Forbes.
This figure could be subject to change in the near future as the player is looking to sign a new contract with the French Champions and his new contract could see him earn as much as Neymar. With his endorsements, he should probably be high up on the list but if we look at weekly salary, then he just misses out on the top five.
#5 Gareth Bale (Real Madrid/Tottenham | Salary: £564k [$783k/€650k]/week)
Gareth Bale might not have been the superstar he was promised to be, however, he is still one of the highest-earning players in the history of the game. The player was too costly to be maintained by Real Madrid alone and Zinedine Zidane’s attitude towards the talent made them send him away on loan to the North London side.
Bale has made 30 appearances this season in all competitions and has managed to score 14 goals while providing three assists. The player earns 564,000 pounds per week and was barely used by Zidane. This was the main reason for his loan move. The player may be aging now and is no longer as good as he used to be; however, he is still one of the top five earners in the world and is only beaten by few other players.
#4 Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona | Salary: £575k [$800k/€662k]/week)
Antoine Griezmann was one of the world’s best players in 2018 when he led his nation to the FIFA World Cup trophy, the most prestigious tournament in the world. He had previously led his former club, Atletico Madrid, to the UCL finals as well and a Europa League win in 2017/18. His performance in Atletico Madrid meant that Barcelona had to pay a hefty transfer fee to Atletico as well as a huge salary to the player who was highly in demand.
The Catalans ended up signing the player to a long-term contract with an almost 600,000 pounds per week salary. It is safe to say that Griezmann has not been able to live up to that price tag however, his recent form under Ronald Koeman has been exceptional and he may very well pull Barca to a La Liga win over his former team.
#4 Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid | Salary: £575k [$800k/€662k]/week)
We have yet another person in the number four spot, joint with Antoine Griezmann. A former Barcelona player, now playing for Atletico Madrid, it is none other than Luis Suarez. The former Blaugrana super striker was picked up by Diego Simeone this season for only six million euros however, his weekly salary suggests that he was not a cheap investment. According to SPORT BIBLE via L’Equipe, the Uruguayan striker earns around 30 million euros a month.
This might be too much in some people’s eyes considering that Suarez is already 34 years of age. However, Suarez has proven this season that age is just a number in football and he managed to score 19 goals in 28 league matches this season. His exploits in front of the goal has managed to keep Atletico at the top of the La Liga table and although expensive, he might just become the club’s best investment.
#3 Neymar Jr. (Paris Saint-Germain | £606k [$840k/€700k]/week)
Neymar’s 222 million euros move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain still remains the biggest transfer move in the history of world football. To complement this move, the player also had to be paid a huge salary, 78 million dollars per year. The Brazilian superstar has not failed the club either. He has been an instrumental figure in their past few seasons and the superstar almost won them the UCL last season but lost in the finals against Bayern Munich.
The player is a huge fashion ambassador as well and has an exclusive partnership with Puma. His contract with PSG is coming to an end in 2022 and we must wait and see if the club is willing to extend the contract of both Neymar and Mbappe. The player will be expecting a similar salary however and might have to take a wage cut due to the coronavirus outbreak which has affected finances worldwide.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus | Salary: £900k [$1.25m/€1.04m]/week)
Cristiano Ronaldo unsurprisingly takes the number two spot on the list, falling behind Lionel Messi yet again. According to L’Equipe, the Portuguese superstar and five-time Ballon d’Or winner earns approximately 1 million pounds a week although no one is sure as to how much he exactly makes. This is a huge figure and he deserves every single penny however, he doesn’t even make half of what Messi does.
That will not bother him too much though as he has his own fashion brand and is an ambassador for Nike as well as other top-notch brands. He has a lifetime deal with Nike reportedly worth 1 billion US dollars. The Juventus star, however, is reaching towards the end of his professional career and there have been talks of the Turin side selling the player for as low as 29 million euros next season.
#1 Lionel Messi (Barcelona | Salary: £2.1 million [$2.9m/€2.42m]/week)
In one of the biggest sports scandals in recent years, the contract of Lionel Messi with Barcelona was leaked to the public last year. The massive contract showed the world that the Blaugrana captain was making around 2.1 million pounds per week and had earned over 500 million pounds since he signed the contract back in 2017. This makes him the highest-paid football star by a mile and highest-earning sporting personality as well.
On top of that, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner also has a lifetime deal with Adidas to rival Ronaldo’s contract with Nike. The exact details of the contract are not known however after looking at his deal with Barcelona, one can only imagine how much he is earning from Adidas. Lionel Messi tops this list in a convincing manner however, his huge deal with Barcelona is coming to an end soon and we will have to see if he is willing to take a huge wage cut in order to continue with the Catalans.
Are you surprised to see any particular player on this list of the 10 highest-paid footballers in the world?