Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappé in the top 10 of the world’s highest-paid players
As every year, Forbes has revealed the ranking of the highest-paid footballers in the world. Two French players are also featured in the top 10. A year ago, Forbes published its famous list of the highest-paid footballers globally. Cristiano Ronaldo (39 years old), Lionel Messi (37 years old), and Neymar Jr (32 years old) occupied the podium.
One year later, the three stars remain at the top, and in the same order. Thus, CR7 is set to earn just over €262 million in 2024. This amount includes his salary at Al-Nassr (€202 million) and his off-field earnings (€60 million). The most-followed athlete on social media, he recently launched his YouTube channel and continues to make lucrative investments (hotel, clinic, real estate) and well-paid partnerships (Nike, Herbalife, and Whoop).
Not far behind the Portuguese is Messi. La Pulga is set to earn €125 million this year. Unlike Cristiano Ronaldo, the Inter Miami star makes more money off the field (€70 million) than through his salary (around €55 million). Forbes notes that the Argentine, who has launched his own production company called 525 Rosario, has lucrative contracts with Adidas, Apple TV, and Konami, as well as a large following on social media. Neymar ranks just behind him. The Brazilian, who has yet to play a single match in 2024 due to a serious knee injury, continues to line his pockets.
The Al-Hilal player earned just over €100 million. In fourth place is Karim Benzema (36 years old). Forbes indicates that the Nueve, who moves up one spot from last year, took home a hefty sum of €95 million. He reportedly received a salary of €92 million at Al-Ittihad, which is far from the €200 million per year mentioned by some media outlets. In addition to his salary, the Frenchman earned around €3 million from off-field activities.
Fourth last year with €100 million, Kylian Mbappé (25 years old) drops one position in the ranking and also sees a slight decrease in earnings. Nevertheless, he is not unhappy, as he earned approximately €83 million. Specifically, his salary brought in €65 million.
It remains to be seen whether the three unpaid months by PSG have been taken into account. In addition to this, KM9 continues to invest wisely, which has earned him approximately €18 million. Behind the two French footballers are Erling Haaland (Manchester City, €55 million), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid, €50 million), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool FC, €49 million), Sadio Mané (Al-Nassr, €48 million), and Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, €36 million). It’s worth noting that Vini Jr has made his debut in the ranking this year (7th). Harry Kane, who was 10th last year, has dropped out of the top 10.
