IT MAY HAVE BEEN A SEASON TO FORGET for Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, who just as quickly may have made up for this by becoming the second footballer to earn $1 billion in his career, according to the Forbes’ rich list 2020.
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The six-time Ballon d’Or winner reaches the milestone of his career ahead of earning an expected £98 million (R2.1 billion) this year due to his high wages in addition to a variety of sponsorship deals. The Argentina captain’s big-company sponsorship profile sees him on the radar of Adidas while he enjoys multi-year contracts with drinks company Pepsi and video game publisher Konami.
Messi’s long-time rival Ronaldo comes in second place this year, with the Juventus man earning around £91 million (R1.9 billion) while the Paris Saint-Germain duo of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe come in third and fourth place, respectively. Neymar recently signed a huge deal with Puma after leaving Nike, while Mbappe is the face of FIFA 21.
Mohamed Salah is the richest Premier League player, with Manchester United pair Paul Pogba and David de Gea also featuring on the year’s Forbes rich list. Check out the full list below:
Forbes rich list 2020
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina), $126 million (£98 million)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus & Portugal), $117m (£91m)
3. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil), $96 million (£74.7 million)
4. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain & France), $42 million (£32.6 million)
5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt), $37 million (£28.8 million)
6. Paul Pogba (Manchester United & France), $34 million (£26.5 million)
7. Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona & France), $33 million (£25.7 million)
8. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid & Wales), $29 million (£22.6 million)
9. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich & Poland), $28 million (£21.8 million)
10. David de Gea (Manchester United & Spain), $27 million (£21 million)