Messi was placed first among sportsmen on Forbes' list of the 100 highest-earning celebrities in 2019, with earnings of $127 million (PS98 million) for the year, and fourth overall, making him the...
He continues to be one of the most lucrative athletes in world football and is the best-paid player in the league. His salary makes him the second highest-paid athlete after NFL quarterback...
Messi signed a new contract with Barcelona in June 2015 that will see him earn up to $500,000 a week until 2021. The deal will also make him the club's highest-paid player behind Lionel Andrés Messi (father).
His weekly salary is higher than those earned by many NBA players and nearly all NFL stars. Only Tom Brady ($40 million), Aaron Rodgers ($35 million), and Drew Brees ($30 million) make more than Messi.
They say talent alone wins games, but skill and luck also play important roles. Well, maybe just a little bit of both is needed to be as successful as Leo Messi is today. He has won almost every award there is to win on the sportive field over the last decade or so, including four FIFA World Player of the Year awards.
Lionel Messi is the world's wealthiest footballer, according to Forbes, after a study on his earnings moved him ahead of competitor Cristiano Ronaldo... highest-paid footballers 2020.
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona | $126m |
|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus | $117m |
| Neymar | PSG | $96m |
| Kylian Mbappe | PSG | $42m |
| Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | $37m |
Three days ago, Barcelona and Argentina forward Messi ranked second on the list and established a record as the highest-paid soccer player, earning $130 million, while Portugal and Juventus forward Ronaldo earned $120 million to rank third among the top ten highest-paid sportsmen. As of today, they are still at it and have not been surpassed.
Messi and Ronaldo continue to be two names that everyone wants to talk about but so far, no one has been able to dethrone them from their positions at the top of the pile. If current trends continue, then we might see another name added to the list in the coming years.
Both players have also won several awards that further increase their earnings. Messi has been named the best player in the world by France's L'Equipe newspaper, the BBC World Footballer of the Year, the UEFA Champions League MVP and the FIFPro World Player of the Year, while Ronaldo has been chosen the FIFA World Player of the Year three times and the European Footballer of the Year twice.
They are both members of the international football team "La Blaugrana" (the Blue Ones) who play in the Spanish league. The club was founded in 1956 and since then has only ever played in the top division of Spanish football.
Football players with the highest salaries in 2021
| Athlete Name | Earnings Value | Overall Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | USD 130 million | 2 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | USD 120 million | 3 |
| Neymar | USD 95 million | 6 |
Lionel Messi is the second-richest footballer in the world, after Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Forbes. In 2021, his net worth is expected to be $400 million.
Ronaldo's net worth will remain stable at $150 million in 2021. He's ranked third behind Messi and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Forbes estimates that Messi and Ronaldo are responsible for more than 85% of global football revenue. They're followed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic ($75 million), Luis Suarez ($65 million) and Neymar ($60 million).
The rest of the top 10 list is made up of players with lower annual salaries but higher earnings over time: Paul Pogba ($45 million), Gareth Bale ($40 million), Thomas Muller ($35 million), Robert Lewandowski ($30 million), Sergio Aguero ($25 million), Karim Benzema ($20 million) and Edinson Cavani ($20 million).
Only five players in the world make more than $10 million per year: Messi, Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Suarez and Neymar.
And the only other members of the "greatest of all time" category are AB de Villiers and Diego Maradona. Both have net worths of $15 million.
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