Portugal professional footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo, has overtaken his Paris Saint-Germain counter, Lionel Messi, as the highest earner in world football.
Messi has just joined PSG from FC Barcelona and his current earning is reportedly around €94 million gross, with a salary of €64 million and a lower commercial earnings.
Ronaldo on the other hand had also made a return to Old Trafford after twelve years of leaving the club.
According to forbes in a recent publication, the Portugal National team captain will earn almost €107 million gross, including a salary of close to €60 million and more than €40 million in earnings from sponsorships and partnerships with brands including Nike, Herbalife and the CR7 brand.
This brands includes perfumes, clothing ranges, hotels and gyms this season, 365MediaHub understands.
Records have it that only three athletes, Tennis legend Roger Federer (approximately €77 million), basketball star LeBron James (€55.5 million) and golfer Tiger Woods (€51 million) have crossed this part in commercial earnings than Ronaldo.
Meanwhile, brands currently linked with Messi are limited to Adidas, Pepsi and Budweiser.
PSG duos, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe made it to third and fourth-highest earner behind Ronaldo and Messi respectively.
Neymar’s current earning is €81 million, while Mbappe is currently earning $43m plus adds on.
Below is Forbes’ top ten highest earners in football in 2021-22;
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – £91.5m [$125m]
2. Lionel Messi – £80.5m [$110m]
3. Neymar – £69.5m [$95m]
4. Kylian Mbappe – £31.5m [$43m]
5. Mohamed Salah – £30m [$41m]
6. Robert Lewandowski – £26m [$35m]
7. Andres Iniesta – £26m [$35m]
8. Paul Pogba – £25m [$34m]
9. Gareth Bale – £23.5m [$32m]
10. Eden Hazard – £21m [$29m]