Cristiano Ronaldo jumps above Lionel Messi to become Forbes' highest-earning footballer
Footballing superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo big-money move to Manchester United has ensured that the striker has leapfrogged his great rival, Lionel Messi to become Forbes' highest-earning footballer of the year.
United created headlines when they managed to bring back the five-time Ballon d'Or award winner back to Old Trafford after a gap of 12 years, with the 36-year-old set to earn £91.5million before taxes during the 2021-22 season, with £51.25m of that coming from his salary and bonuses for his return to Old Trafford.
Messi who himself left Barcelona and moved to Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer will earn £80.5m, followed by fellow PSG team-mates, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe who earn £69.5m and £31.5m to sit third and fourth on the list.
Roger Federer (£66m), LeBron James (£48m) and Tiger Woods (£44m) are the only athletes around the globe who earn more than Ronaldo and in total, the 10 highest-paid footballers are set to collect pretax earnings of around £428m this season, up from last year’s total of around £471m.
Cristiano Ronaldo has reclaimed top spot as the world’s highest paid soccer player over Lionel Messi. He is set to earn $125 million before taxes in the 2021-22 season, with $70 million coming from salary and bonus for his return to United. [@Forbes] pic.twitter.com/K7zJlFV3Mp
— United Zone (@ManUnitedZone_) September 21, 2021
Forbes' top 10 highest earners in football
1) Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) - £91.5m
2) Lionel Messi (PSG) - £80.5
3) Neymar (PSG) - £69.5
4) Kylian Mbappe (PSG) - £31.5m
5) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - £30m
6) Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) - £26m
7) Andres Iniesta (Vissel Kobe) - £26m
8) Paul Pogba (Manchester United) - £25m
9) Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) - £23.5
10) Eden Hazard (Real Madrid) - £21m