Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has leapfrog PSG's Lionel Messi to become Forbes' highest-earning footballer this year, reports Goal.com.
Ronaldo is set to earn $125 million (£91.5m) before taxes during the 2021-22 season, with $70m (£51.25m) of that coming from his salary and bonuses for his return to Old Trafford.
Messi, meanwhile, sits just behind him at $110m (£80.5m) with his new Paris Saint-Germain team-mates Neymar and
Kylian Mbappe rounding out the top four.
Forbes' top 10 highest earners in football
| Player | Club | 2021-22 Total earnings |
|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | $125m/ £91.5m |
| Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain | $110m/ £80.5m |
| Neymar | Paris Saint-Germain | $95m/ £69.5m |
| Kylian Mbappe | Paris Saint-Germain | $43m/ £31.5m |
| Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | $41m/ £30m |
| Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | $35m/ £26m |
| Andres Iniesta | Vissel Kobe | $35m/ £26m |
| Paul Pogba | Manchester United | $34m/ £25m |
| Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | $32m/ £23.5m |
| Eden Hazard | Real Madrid | $29m/ £21m |
In total, the ten highest-paid soccer players are expected to collect pretax earnings of $585 million this season, up from last year’s $570 million. Salary and bonus make up the bulk of the total—$415 million—and are up a modest 2.6% from last year as most clubs continue to be cautious in the face of uncertainty around emerging Covid-19 strains reports Forbes.
Source: Goal.com, Forbes
