Three of the world’s top four footballing earners are PSG players | OneFootball

Forbes have released their annual list of the world’s top footballing earners over the last year with PSG heavily represented in the top ten rundown.

PSG new signing Lionel Messi (34) places second on the list with $110m in earnings having been usurped from top spot by 36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo’s $125m after the Portuguese re-joined Manchester United this summer. A large chunk of both players’ earning are derived from commercial endorsements and, while Messi’s earnings from salary exceeded Ronaldo’s despite taking a pay cut to join PSG, only Roger Federer, LeBron James and Tiger Woods of the world’s active athletes earn more than Ronaldo commercially. Both players have now passed the $1bn mark in career earnings, however.

Neymar takes third spot with $95m in earnings before a big jump down to fellow PSG forward Kylian Mbappé in fourth with $43m. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah rounds out the top five. A surprise comes via 37-year-old former Barcelona midfielder Andrés Iniesta, now with J-League club Vissel Kobe, who’s $35m sees him take seventh on Forbes’ top ten list. Manchester United’s France international midfielder Paul Pogba ($34m) placed eighth.