Cristiano Ronaldo surpasses Lionel Messi as highest paid footballer

The Portuguese is set to earn $125 million as compared to Messi's expected earning of $110 million for the 2021-22 season.

Cristiano Ronaldo has surpassed Lionel Messi in the list for the highest paid footballers in the world.

According to Forbes, Ronaldo is set to earn $70 million through salary and bonus after his return to Premier League club Manchester United and a cumulative $125 million before taxes in the 2021-22 season.

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Lionel Messi, who moved to Paris Saint-Germain after 21 years at FC Barcelona, on the other hand, will earn more than the Portuguese though club wages ($75 million).

However, his cumulative wage is expected to be fall short to that of Ronaldo at $110 million.

The list has three PSG players, Messi, Neymar and Mbappe in the top five with the Brazilian set to earn $95m while the latter is behind with expected earnings of $43m.

 

Manchester United has another player in the top 10, with Paul Pogba expected to earn $34 million in the 2021-22 season.

In the top 10 list, Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah and Andres Iniesta are the other icons in the list.

The list also has Real Madrid players Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard on the list, neither of whom enjoyed regular game time last season, with the former spending most of his time last season at his former club Tottenham Hotspur on loan.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United starts against West Ham United in the Carabao Cup tonight after a win over the same time in the Premier League on Sunday.

Lionel Messi, however, will be out of action with a bruised knee injury, as confirmed by his club PSG.