Cristiano Ronaldo overtakes Lionel Messi on Forbes' list of highest paid footballers

Lionel Messi has six Ballon d'Or trophies to Cristiano Ronaldo's five, however, the Portuguese forward has won more Champions League trophies than his Argentine rival. The two megastars have been competing for the top awards in football for over a decade now and another category that Messi was leading — the Forbes' list of highest-paid soccer players. Although, according to the latest update by Forbes, the Manchester United star has surpassed Messi to become the world's highest-paid soccer player.

The player's earnings in the 2021-22 season was over $125 million before taxes, with about $70 million coming from salary and bonus for his return to United. The remaining, approximately $55 million is said to come from personal endorsements and partnerships with brands including Nike, Herbalife, Clear, and his ever-expanding CR7-branded portfolio that includes perfume, underwear, eyewear, hotels, gyms, and more. There are only three other active athletes that make more commercially, Roger Federer ($65 million), LeBron James ($65 million), and Tiger Woods ($60 million). Messi earns a total of $110 million after he made the switch from Barcelona to PSG this year, where his salary is $75 million and another $35 million in endorsements from the likes of Adidas, Pepsi, watchmaker Jacobs & Co, and Budweiser.

Top 10 Highest Earning Soccer Players in the World

In total, the ten highest-paid soccer players are expected to collect earnings of $585 million this season, up from last year’s $570 million before tax. Salary and bonus make up the bulk of the total, $415 million, and are up a modest 2.6 per cent from last year. PSG now makes up three of the top five highest-earning footballers with the likes of Neymar, Messi, and Kylian Mbappe.

(Image: AP)