Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar are the three highest-paid football players in the world in 2023

EffieOctober 13, 2023 11:30 ESTReading: 2 minutes

The football market has been brutal again this year, with wage figures sky-high and Saudi Arabia positioning itself as an extremely active player market and attracting the sport’s biggest stars.

According to the ranking of the world’s highest-paid football players in 2023 published by Forbes magazine, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar currently occupy the top three.

The Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Al Nasr Football Club in the 2022-2023 season, not only opened the door to the Saudi market, but also broke all records with the best contract compared to all his teammates. He tops the list, earning $260 million per campaign.

Lionel Messi moved back into second place with total earnings of $135 million, becoming the first Major League Soccer (MLS) player to crack the top 10 since David Beckham in 2012.

In third place is Brazilian Neymar, who left Paris Saint-Germain to join Al Hilal Saudi Arabia and scored his first goal for the Saudi team in October this year.

The footballer from Sao Paulo has numerous sponsors including Puma, Konami and RedBull and earns $112 million per season.

Mbappe, who fell from first place in 2022 to fourth currently, leads the European player rankings (he has been playing for Paris Saint-Germain since 2017) and earns $110 million per season.

Karim Benzema did not enter the “top ten” as a Real Madrid player last season. Karim Benzema, who currently wears the Etihad Shield on his chest, earns US$106 million per season.

Three Premier League players are among the ten highest-paid players: Erling Haaland ($58 million) and Kevin De Bruyne ($39 million) from Manchester City, and Mohamed Salah from Liverpool Hyuk ($53 million).

Sadio Mané is one of the most prolific footballers in Senegalese history, playing for Al-Nassr and ranking eighth with earnings of $52 million.

He is followed by Harry Kane, who is in his first season with Bayern Munich, and Robert Lewandowski from Barcelona, ​​with estimated total earnings of $36 and $34 million respectively.