As well as being the best player in the world right now, Cristiano Ronaldo is also the best paid. See, football is a meritocracy after all.
We won’t hand out any prizes for guessing Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s best paid player but according to Forbes brand new list the amount he earned last year is truly staggering.
The magazine today published their list of the top paid soccer players in the world and Ronnie comes out on top, bringing home an astonishing $73m (€52m) a year. That figure includes his salary at Real Madrid (about €35m), plus endorsements.
Second to Ronaldo is Lionel Messi, who coins $65m (€46m) a year and they reckon when he signs a new deal at Barca he will be on the same megabucks as his Portuguese rival.
Third, and a long way back by Forbes’ reckoning, is Zlatan, who ‘only’ earns $34m (€24m), the vast bulk of which ($30m) comes from his PSG salary.
Neymar is just behind Zlatan and he is the first player who earns more off the pitch than on it, with $12m coming from Barca and an incredible $16m coming from endorsements.
Monaco’s Falcao is fifth with his bank balance increasing by $26m over the last 12 months.
Gareth Bale ($24m), Wayne Rooney ($22m), Sergio Aguero ($21m), Yaya Toure ($21m) and Fernando Torres ($20m) round out the top 10.
Check out the full list here.
