Ronaldo dethroned, no longer the highest earning footballer on the planet

For many years it was practically true that Cristiano Ronaldo was the highest earning footballer. However, in 2022, that statement is no longer valid, as the Portuguese striker has been leapfrogged by French talent Kylian Mbappé. Who else is in the top 10 highest paid footballers in the world?

Ronaldo held his top spot for a long time not only thanks to his high salary at Manchester United, but also thanks to his huge following (over 480 million fans) on Instagram and subsequent advertising deals. However, that is no longer the case.

The Frenchman reportedly earns $125 million a year, twelve more than Ronaldo. Third place belongs to Messi (110 million dollars), fourth is Neymar (91 million dollars) and in fifth place by a wide margin is Mohamed Salah (39.5 million dollars).

However, in terms of salary alone (not including sponsorship deals), Ronaldo doesn’t even make the top three. Ahead of him are the PSG strikers. In third place with an annual income of $56 million is Neymar and second is Messi with $62 million.

Nobody is likely to be surprised by Mbappe’s first place finish. Thanks to signing a new contract with the Parisian outfit, he will earn a whopping $105 million a year. This means that he will receive about 200 dollars (over five thousand crowns) every minute this year.

The surprise in the top ten highest paid footballers is Iniesta, who is the only one not playing in European competition. The Spanish veteran is still playing for Japan’s Vissel Kobe at the age of 38 and earns 30 million dollars a year.

Ronaldo can still enjoy the top spot in monetary gain from sponsorships. The closest to him is Messi ($48 million) with a loss of $12 million. Will Mbappé take on the Portuguese star in the coming years in this respect as well?

You can see the list of the top ten highest earning footballers in the tweet below::

Source:: Sportbible, Twitter, Instagram