Top 10 Highest Paid Footballers in the World

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) - €4,700,000/Month

Club Atletico de Madrid v Juventus - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: First Leg

Cristiano Ronaldo is a 34-year-old left winger who currently plays for Juventus in Serie A. He represents Portugal's national team as their captain, and has been capped a total of 155 times, scoring 85 goals in the process.

Even before the days of Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo drew a lot of attention for the way he played. He was rapid on the ball and could skip past oncoming defenders with ease. All it took was for Manchester United to play Ronaldo's team, Sporting Lisbon, in a pre-season friendly for Sir Alex Ferguson to give the order to sign the 18-year-old up, and the rest is history.

He joined United for around £17m and made an immediate impact in his first season, showcasing his ability on a huge scale now that he was in the Premier League. Despite his tender age, Ronaldo featured in matches whenever possible, as Ferguson knew how pivotal the youngster was to games -- he could pick out a pass that others would miss; he could score from a distance that others wouldn't think to shoot from; and he could open up opposing defences in a flash. He was the ultimate player.

Ronaldo would play a total of 229 games for Manchester United, scoring 93 times -- an impressive stat for a player who was utilised on the flanks. In the 2007/08 campaign, Ronaldo scored 31 goals in 34 appearances, which is a record Suarez matched in the 2013/14 season with Liverpool (as mentioned previously), before the record was eventually broken by Mohamed Salah in the 2017/18 Premier League season with Liverpool, in which he scored 32 goals in 36 matches.

By the summer of 2009, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid for £80m and it was here in Spain that he would reach his peak. He was unstoppable throughout his time with Los Blancos, and remained with them for nine years, setting and breaking innumerable records, whilst competing with Lionel Messi for Ballon d'Ors on the side.

Last summer, though, he made the sudden switch to Juventus for just over £100m. He was reportedly unsettled at Madrid and felt as if he was being mistreated. Many fans wondered if he would slow down or struggle in a new division, with a new club, but this hasn't been the case. Ronaldo has scored 19 goals in 26 matches for Juventus in Serie A, as well as 4 goals in 7 games in the Champions League.

It's no wonder why Ronaldo is paid so much money, given the amount he gives back to the club -- not just with his performances out on the pitch, but with his brand being connected to Juventus as a whole, which has boosted merchandise sales exponentially.

Cristiano Ronaldo's monthly salary of €4,700,000 breaks down to around €1,175,000-per-week.