Cristiano Ronaldo tops Forbes list of highest-paid footballers

Cristiano Ronaldo remains the most handsomely rewarded footballer on the planet, but La Liga has eclipsed the Saudi Pro League as home to the highest proportion of the world’s best-paid players, according to the latest list compiled by Forbes.

Fresh from becoming the first footballer to reach billionaire status, Ronaldo once again tops the Forbes rankings, his estimated income of $280m (£208m) more than doubling the $130m earned by perennial rival Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, who is second on the list.

The 40-year-old Portuguese, whose $230m gross salary at Riyadh-based club Al Nassr is supplemented by a further $50m in sponsorship deals, is one of three players among the top 10 who ply their trade in Saudi Arabia.

The others are former France international Karim Benzema, whose $100m Al Ittihad salary is boosted by $4m in endorsements, and Ronaldo’s team-mate Sadio Mané, who left Bayern Munich for Al Nassr in August 2023 and earns a total of $54m. Benzema, 37, is third on the list with 33-year-old Mané ranked eighth.

Ronaldo recently made a first appearance in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, where his net worth was estimated at $1.4bn. In May, he was named by Forbes as the highest paid athlete in the world for a third successive year (and fifth in all).

La Liga overtakes Saudi Pro League on Forbes list

Unsurprisingly, fourth-placed Kylian Mbappé is the highest earner from La Liga, raking in $70m from his day job at Real Madrid and a cool $25m from his off-field activities. The France international is joined on the list by Bernabéu team-mates Vinícius Júnior (sixth on a total of $60m) and Jude Bellingham (ninth with $44m).

But it is the presence of top-10 newcomer Lamine Yamal, who came second in this year’s Ballon d’Or awards, that tips the balance in La Liga’s favour. The 18-year-old Barcelona winger, who contributed 18 goals and 25 assists last term as Hansi Flick’s side won a domestic trouble of league, Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España titles, makes the list in final place with $43m ($10m from endorsements).

It leaves the Premier League with just two representatives. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland ranked fifth on $80m, while Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah claimed seventh spot with $55m.