Lionel Messi y Cristiano Ronaldo They are the two most important footballers in the world and, according to the ranking of the prestigious magazine Forbesthey are also the ones who earn the most money per year. However, this duel of titans has a clear winner, since one of them had a turnover more than double that of the other in 2024.
In the case of the captain of the Argentine National Team, commercial agreements with important brands such as Adidas and Apple TV are added to his contract with Inter Miami. The man from Rosario is one of the stars of the MLS and the most popular soccer figure in the United States, which is why he won US$135 million this year.
Although it is an impressive figure, it was not enough to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo, who registered a record of annual income for an athlete since 1990, when Forbes began to compile the ranking: between his contract with Al Nassr and his marketing agreements, the Portuguese billed US$285 million.
Messi Ronaldo
The ranking of the highest paid footballers in the world
According to the magazine’s ranking Forbesthe 10 highest paid footballers in the world are:
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr): $285 million
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami): US$135 million
- Neymar (Al Hilal): US$110 million
- Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad): $104 million
- Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid): $90 million
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City): u$s60 million
- Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid): $55 million
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool): $53 million
- Sadio Mané (Al Nassr): $52 million
- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City): $39 million
