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Among all the sports in the world, Football is counted as one of the sports which is best-paid sports. Players are transferred from one club to another at mind-boggling amounts and their per week wages are staggering. Apart from this footballers earn a majority of their fees through endorsements which run into billions.
Consider the case of Cristiano Ronaldo. He has a lifetime contract with Nike for a whopping $1 billion dollars. Besides that, he is projected to earn around $50 million every year.
It is obvious that their performance on the football ground influences their popularity and in turn their earnings. When such famous players are hired by multinational companies, it helps them to boost their sales so they don't hold back on paying huge paychecks to these footballers. In a recent example, Paul Pogba's arrival at Manchester United helped Adidas clock sales of over £190million in just three weeks.
In this article, we see the richest footballers who have featured in Forbes top 50 of World's highest-paid athletes:
(All figures cited are courtesy Forbes)
#4 Gareth Bale
Salary/Winnings: $28.6 M
Endorsement: $6 M
Gareth Bale will be remembered in history after his performance against Liverpool which included a sensational bicycle kick, to lead Real Madrid to a record 12th Champions League title. The Welshman has scored in a lot of finals and made a name for himself in big matches.
After his move from Tottenham Spurs in 2013, he has improved his game by several notches. His accurate crosses along with winning balls from the opposition players make him a valuable player. Also, he is known to be one of the quickest footballers in the world.
With Bale raising doubts about his future at Real Madrid, there is a chance that he may return to the Premier League. In case that happens to expect him to ring the cash counters again. He also has an endorsement deal with Adidas which earns him millions of dollars.
#3 Neymar
Salary/Winnings: $71 M
Endorsement: $19 M
Neymar Jr's transfer from Barcelona to PSG shocked the football world and smashed all the previous records. The transaction was worth €222 million, making him the world's most expensive player. The Brazilian footballer is known for his dribbling and excellent finishing skills. In his first season for PSG, he was their star player as he scored 27 goals in all competitions.
Off the pitch, he is considered to be one of the most marketable footballers in the world. He has signed a lot of million-dollar deals with multi-national companies such as Volkswagen, Tenys Pé Baruel, Lupo, Ambev, Claro, Unilever, and Santander. His rise to popularity is quite phenomenal, and this makes him take the fifth position in the richest athletes list.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo
Salary/Winnings: $61 M
Endorsement: $47 M
Amongst all the records made by Ronaldo during the season, two of them stood out. One being that he equaled Lionel Messi and won his fifth Ballon d'Or. Secondly, he became the first player in the history of football to win five Champions League title. He scored 43 goals for Real Madrid in all competitions.
Off the pitch too, Ronaldo created a record of sorts after he signed a lifetime Nike contract which is worth upward of $1 billion. Apart from that, he endorses a plethora of brands and rakes in a lot of moolah. With 322 million social media followers, he has garnered a lot of viewers attention and helps big companies endorse their products through his accounts on Instagram, Twitter, etc. This makes him the third highest paid athlete in the world,(Second in football)
#1 Lionel Messi
Salary/Winnings: $84 M
Endorsement: $27 M
The diminutive striker from Argentina keeps creating records week after week. In this season too, Lionel Messi was at his best and scored an impressive 45 goals for Barcelona. His exploits on the pitch make him one of the most sought by big companies.
He has signed a lifelong contract with ADIDAS for an undisclosed amount which is a sizable portion of his earnings in an endorsement. He also has deals with big brands such as Gatorade, Pepsi, Ooredoo, Huawei, and Hawkers.
Not surprisingly, he is the highest paid footballer in the world. When compared with other sports, he stands second in the list of World's top paid athletes. He is only surpassed by Floyd Mayweather who is into boxing.
