Outrageous Saudi contracts and a major MLS signing realigned the soccer universe this year. But a roster of marquee names—including Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar—remain on top of the financial table.
To persuade Neymar to leave France’s Ligue 1 and join the Saudi Pro League, his new club, Al Hilal, had to deliver a soccer king’s ransom. The 31-year-old Brazilian star reportedly received a mansion with staff, a fleet of luxury cars, and access to a private jet, as well as bonuses for team wins and social media posts and permission to live with his girlfriend, which is restricted by Islamic law. That’s all on top of the estimated $80 million in on-field compensation ($112 million in total earnings) Neymar is expected to receive for playing this season.
Al Hilal can afford it. The club is one of four that Saudi Arabia’s $700 billion (assets) Public Investment Fund took control of in June and a critical piece of the Kingdom’s outsized sporting ambitions. Just as they did with LIV Golf, the Saudis are keen on shaking up the global soccer landscape and creating a new destination for top talent. And they’re not shy about spending astronomical amounts of money to land a galaxy of stars.
Saudi Pro League clubs spent just shy of $1 billion to acquire 94 overseas players during the 2023 summer transfer window, according to Deloitte. That doesn’t even account for the jaw-dropping amounts offered to players who declined to leave their European clubs, including a $1.1 billion package reportedly offered to pry Kylian Mbappé from Paris-Saint Germain for one year or the rumored three-year, $1.6 billion deal presented to Lionel Messi before he opted to take his talents to South Beach.
In total, the world’s eleven highest-paid soccer players are projected to earn $995 million this season before taxes and agents’ fees, with five crossing the nine-figure mark. That’s a staggering 53% rise over last year’s list, which ranked ten players at a record $652 million combined. Saudi Pro League players claimed four spots this year and account for more than half of the 2023 total, primarily because of their lucrative on-field deals.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who topped the highest-paid soccer players list in 2021, lands at No. 1 with expected total earnings of $260 million. His decision to relocate to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr earlier this year, after a messy breakup with Manchester United, effectively kicked off the exodus to the Kingdom. Ronaldo is projected to earn $200 million on the field, but his deal is believed to include playing wages as well as financial incentives from commercial agreements facilitated by the club. And while Al Nassr likely bought out a portion of his image rights, Ronaldo still maintains a lucrative endorsement portfolio (including Nike and Jacob & Co), earning an estimated $60 million annually.
Top 10 Highest-Paid Soccer Players
(2014-2023)
The Saudis are notoriously opaque when it comes to their business dealings, especially with spending that seems to defy business logic. Forbes spoke with more than a dozen industry insiders to refine these contract estimates and there is a strong consensus that some public reports of soccer salaries may be inflated. That could be to soften reputational damage for playing in a country that has been accused of sportswashing to distract from its human right record. (In a recent interview with Fox News, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the PIF’s chairman, doubled down on that reason: “If sportswashing is going to increase my GDP by one percent, then I will continue doing sportswashing.”) Or these stratospheric salary numbers could simply be used to entice more players to play against lesser competition in Saudi Arabia. While definitive contract information, including leaked documents and public filings, does occasionally emerge, soccer insiders suggest that some of the reported figures are educated guesses, sometimes strung together from intermediaries with limited involvement in the respective deals.
But if self-sustaining revenues are the goal, the Saudi Pro League clearly needs a more viable economic model. The Chinese Super League is a familiar cautionary tale: Its clubs spent more than $1 billion on transfers during 2016 and 2017, according to Transfermarkt, to bring stars such as Brazil’s Oscar and Hulk as well as Argentina’s Carlos Tevez to its burgeoning league. But after the better part of a decade, Xi Jinping’s grand soccer dream has become a nightmare. China’s economy faltered, investor interest dried up, sponsors and viewers diminished, clubs struggled with wage bills and many foreign players and coaches quit, partly due to strict Covid-19 policies. In 2022, the league’s clubs cumulatively spent just shy of $30 million on transfers.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Pro League has already had its share of turbulence. In the past 18 months, FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Center has heard 21 cases filed by players against Saudi clubs, with claims ranging from unfair contract termination to non-payment of wages, according to The Athletic. The players won each case and the total sum paid out to the aggrieved athletes was more than $16 million. Last year, amid growing concerns about the viability of payments, FIFPro, the international union representing 65,000 players, advised players against moving to Saudi Arabia.
For now, the Kingdom can write as many checks with too many zeroes as they please, thanks to their deep well of financial resources. Meanwhile, the Financial Fair Play regulations in Europe prevent clubs from spending more than they earn, meaning the Big Five Leagues can only keep up so much. Granted, many of the Saudi transfers are on the back ends of their respective careers so maintaining interest in the league will require some creativity. “Everybody’s still watching Ronaldo, everybody’s watching [Karim] Benzema and all of these world-class players,” says Rossi Biddle, owner of sports marketing firm XtraTimeFC. “But these guys have only got two years left, so what’s the backfill there? Is it then going out to leading European clubs to get their aging players off the books? Or do we get to see Messi-style deals very soon?”
To lure the 36-year-old Argentinian to Major League Soccer, Messi’s agreement with Inter Miami reportedly includes a cut of revenue from league partners Adidas and Apple TV, and an option to buy a stake in Inter Miami when he hangs up his boots. Combined with annual off-field earnings of $70 million, which increased in concert with Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victory and his move to the United States, Messi lands at No. 2 with total projected earnings of $135 million. That makes Messi the first MLS player to appear in the top ten since David Beckham in 2012. (MLS allows three “designated players” per roster, which allow for salaries that exceed the league’s budget constraints.)
Of course, Messi and the other Saudi-bound players, Al Ittihad’s Benzema ($106 million) and Al Nassr’s Sadio Mané ($52 million), aren’t the only ones cashing supersized checks. Mbappé, who slipped from No. 1 last year to fourth on the list, leads all European-based players at an estimated $120 million in earnings. Three Premier League players made the cut, including Manchester City teammates Erling Haaland ($58 million) and Kevin De Bruyne ($39 million) and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah ($53 million). Harry Kane, in his first season with Bayern Munich, and Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski round out the top-11, with projected total earnings of $36 million and $34 million, respectively.
Here are the world’s ten highest paid soccer players.
THE WORLD’S TEN HIGHEST-PAID PLAYERS 2023
#1. $260 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo
AGE: 38 | TEAM: AL NASSR | NATIONALITY: PORTUGAL | ON-FIELD: $200 MILLION • OFF-FIELD: $60 MILLION
Amin M. Jamali/Getty
Ronaldo’s new Saudi employers haven’t been shy about taking advantage of his prowess as a celebrity pitchman. He appeared in a video posted by Al Nassr, wearing traditional Saudi attire, to promote the Kingdom’s National Day, as well one for the upcoming Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match in Riyadh. He’s also continued to plug his own partnerships, with spots for Clear, Herbalife and Binance, among others, appearing on his Instagram account over the past two months.
#2. $135 million
Lionel Messi
AGE: 36 | TEAM: INTER MIAMI | NATIONALITY: ARGENTINA | ON-FIELD: $65 MILLION • OFF-FIELD: $70 MILLION
Kevin C. Cox/Getty
The Messi Effect has not only accelerated ticket demand and sent prices surging for Inter Miami, but clubs all around MLS as well. For their Match against Miami in October, while the GOAT sat out injured, the Chicago Fire drew a club record 62,124 fans at Soldier Field and generated a reported $7 million to $10 million in revenue, more than all their home games combined this season. Messi’s arrival on U.S. soil was also chronicled in a recently released Apple TV documentary.
#3. $112 million
Neymar Jr.
AGE: 31 | TEAM: AL HILAL | NATIONALITY: BRAZIL | ON-FIELD: $80 MILLION • OFF-FIELD: $32 MILLION
Francois Nel/Getty
October has already been a milestone month for Neymar—he netted his first goal with his new club, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, and welcomed his second child, a baby girl. Away from the pitch, he remains as active as ever, with a list of sponsors that includes Puma, Konami and Red Bull. More recently, Neymar announced a partnership with Portuguese horse breeding farm Team Campline.
#4. $110 million
Kylian Mbappé
AGE: 24 | TEAM: PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN | NATIONALITY: FRANCE | ON-FIELD: $90 MILLION • OFF-FIELD: $20 MILLION
Christian Liewig/Corbis/Corbis
Mbappé’s decision not to extend his contract with France’s Paris-Saint Germain ahead of the new Ligue 1 season, put him at odds with PSG ownership—with the club even choosing to exclude him from a preseason tour in Japan. The two sides seem to have somewhat repaired their relationship, but whispers of Mbappé fulfilling his childhood dream to play for Real Madrid are growing louder. The venerable Spanish club, which has chased him in the past, is reportedly planning to make another big push next summer.
#5. $106 million
Karim Benzema
AGE: 35 | TEAM: AL ITTIHAD | NATIONALITY: FRANCE | ON-FIELD: $100 MILLION • OFF-FIELD: $6 MILLION
AFP/Getty
Benzema may have followed his former Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia, but when asked about the move, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner offered a deeply personal explanation for the transfer. “It’s where I want to be because it’s important for me to be in a Muslim country, where I feel people (are) already like me,” Benzema told the media in June. “It will allow me to have a new life and I can’t wait to live there.”
#6. $58 million
Erling Haaland
AGE: 23 | TEAM: MANCHESTER CITY | NATIONALITY: NORWAY | ON-FIELD: $46 MILLION • OFF-FIELD: $12 MILLION
Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty
Haaland scored 52 goals in all competitions last season, obliterating the record for a Premier League player. His torrid success has caught Real Madrid’s eye, reportedly prompting Manchester City to reopen contract talks with its 23-year-old star, despite having almost four years left on his contract. Off the pitch, Haaland has a lucrative Nike deal and graced the cover of the EA Sports FC 2024 video game, which was rebranded after EA’s partnership with FIFA concluded.
#7. $53 million
Mohamed Salah
AGE: 31 | TEAM: LIVERPOOL | NATIONALITY: EGYPT | ON-FIELD: $35 MILLION • OFF-FIELD: $18 MILLION
OLI SCARFF/AFP
Mo Salah nearly became the Saudi’s most expensive soccer signing to date, with Al Ittihad reportedly offering a $190 million transfer fee. Liverpool declined, so Salah stay in Anfield for the foreseeable future. The Egyptian star also has a signature boot with Adidas and was recently the subject of a Harvard Business School study about his latest round of contract negotiations.
#8. $52 million
Sadio Mané
AGE: 31 | TEAM: AL NASSR | NATIONALITY: SENEGAL | ON-FIELD: $48 MILLION • OFF-FIELD: $4 MILLION
Adam Nurkiewicz/Getty
Mané has become one of the most prolific soccer players in Senegal’s history, leading its national team with 37 career goals. He’s had similar success in his club career, sharing the Premier League’s Golden Boot with former teammate Salah at Liverpool in 2018-19. Two years ago, Mané signed a long-term extension with New Balance.
#9. $39 million
Kevin De Bruyne
AGE: 32 | TEAM: MANCHESTER CITY | NATIONALITY: BELGIUM | ON-FIELD: $35 MILLION • OFF-FIELD: $4 MILLION
Michael Regan/Getty
In March, De Bruyne scored an endorsement deal with McDonald’s that will see him marketed back in his native Belgium. Fans interested in watching him on the pitch will have to wait, though. De Bruyne has been absent from Manchester City’s lineup since the season opener as he recovers from hamstring surgery that could keep him sidelined for up to five months.
#10. $36 million
Harry Kane
AGE: 30 | TEAM: BAYERN MUNICH | NATIONALITY: ENGLAND | ON-FIELD: $26 MILLION • OFF-FIELD: $10 MILLION
CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP
Kane’s dream of becoming an NFL kicker will have to wait a few more years as the former Tottenham Hotspurs star signed a four-year deal with Bayern Munich this summer. Meanwhile, he continues to add to his marketing portfolio. Kane signed a multi-year partnership with Fanatics, becoming the first British athlete to partner exclusively with the company’s autographs and memorabilia division.
#11. $34 million
Robert Lewandowski
AGE: 35 | TEAM: FC BARCELONA | NATIONALITY: POLAND | ON-FIELD: $24 MILLION • OFF-FIELD: $10 MILLION
Eric Alonso/Getty
With 33 goals last season, the 35-year-old Lewandowski hardly looks like his career is winding down. But that hasn’t stopped him from placing a greater emphasis on his off-field activity. In April, the Polish national captain hired CAA to handle his commercial representation. Lewandowski currently has eight partners, including Nike, Spoitfy and Oanda, and is the subject of a series of commemorative coins in his home country.
METHODOLOGY
The Forbes ranking of the world’s highest-paid soccer players represents the combined total of on-field earnings for the 2023-24 season, including base salaries, bonuses and, in some cases, club-based image rights agreements, and off-field estimates that reflect annual cash from endorsements, licensing, appearances and memorabilia, as well as businesses operated by the players. In the cases of players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, where club or league sponsors subsidize their contracts, that value is accounted for in on-field estimates. The figures are derived through publicly available databases, including Capology.com, and conversations with industry insiders. Most asked to remain anonymous, but Forbes would like to acknowledge Tancredi Palmeri and DODICI Sports Management’s Mariano Trasande.
All figures are converted to U.S. dollars using the current exchange rate. Forbes does not include investment income such as interest payments or dividends but does account for payouts from equity stakes athletes have sold. Forbes does not deduct taxes or agents’ fees. Transfer fees are excluded.
This article was originally published on forbes.com.
