Life as a professional athlete has always been the subject of envy. Fast cars, lavish lifestyle, and the opportunity to make a living doing the one thing that you love? What’s not to like about those things? The lives of professional athletes are always fascinating to follow, and those of football players are no different.
For now, however, we are going to step away from the lifestyles of professional football players and focus more on the salaries they earn. Who are the highest paid football players today? How much do they actually make? We are going to answer these questions in this article.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is a name that everyone who loves football – and those who love sport in general – recognises. Messi is known as one of the best players right now due to his skills and the incredible goals he has scored over the years.
Having Messi on the field always brings a huge boost to Barcelona’s performance. It is still a team sport, but Messi is an invaluable team member nonetheless. The striker, and team captain, always brings excitement to those who play sports betting with PlaySugarHouse, particularly Barcelona fans who are into sports betting.
He recently renewed his contract with Barcelona for a few more years. For staying with the team, Messi now earns at least $80 million a year in annual salary and bonuses. That’s double his annual salary in 2016.
Christiano Ronaldo
Christiano Ronaldo is the other side of the coin. Both him and Messi won the most prestigious award in football, the Ballon d’Or, five times. The two are competing for the top spot at every turn and the rivalry is only getting more exciting to follow.
It is safe to say that Ronaldo has a more extravagant lifestyle outside of the football stadium, which is why he is also recognised as one of the most covered football players in the world. In terms of annual salary, however, Ronaldo currently sits in number two.
That is no reason to feel sorry for the football bad boy, because being in second place means earning a whopping $120 million in salary and other deals. That number is only the beginning, because Ronaldo also has a lot of endorsement deals, including the lifetime Nike endorsement worth an eye-watering $1 billion.
The Top 5
Messi and Ronaldo are often seen as being in their own leagues, but that doesn’t mean other players aren’t as good or as generously paid. In third place, we have Neymar Jr. with his not-so-modest $90 million deal with Paris Saint-Germain. Neymar was one of the most successful players in the 2018 World Cup.
Next, we have Gareth Bale. The Real Madrid player brought the team to their third Champions League title and was rewarded with a contract worth more than $40 million. Paul Pogba finishes our top 5 list with a cool $30 million plus in salary and deals.
Keep in mind that these figures are only calculated based on annual salary, bonuses, and deals with the team. Ronaldo’s $1 billion deal with Nike is a good example of how professional football players can earn so much more than their annual salary. Life as a professional athlete is a dream indeed.
