The World’s Highest-Paid Footballers in 2023

by , 9 March 2023

Football is a global sport, and the top players can earn an eye-watering amount of money. In this article, we will reveal who the highest-paid footballers are, which teams they play for, how much they earn and their business interests outside football. We will also discuss the case for and against players earning such large amounts.

Highest paid footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, Mohamed Salah, PSG, Liverpool, Al-Nassr, football wages, football betting

The top players at the top clubs are the highest earners in football, with many earning more in one week than most of us football betting fans can make in a decade. We’ll answer the question of who is the highest-paid football player and examine the player’s team and personal accolades to help us understand why they are paid the highest wages in football.

We will also explore additional funding sources, such as endorsements and businesses away from the field, contributing to their immense wealth. Finally, we will also explore the ethical side. They may be the best-paid footballers, but is it morally right for someone to earn so much?

So let’s start and look at the top earners in the football world. Here are the world’s top 5 highest-paid footballers as of 2023.

Cristiano Ronaldo – Al-Nassr – £169.10m Yearly

Ask someone who is the highest-paid footballer in the world, and one of two names will likely get mentioned, and one of these is Christiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar has won an impressive array of titles and awards throughout his career, making him one of the greatest players ever.

Ronaldo’s trophy cabinet has some of the sport’s most prestigious awards. He has won the European Championship with Portugal, earning the coveted title of European champion in 2016. He has also been named The Best FIFA Men’s Player twice, first in 2016 while at Real Madrid and then again in 2017.

Perhaps most impressive are Ronaldo’s five Ballon d’Or wins, a record he shares with his great rival Lionel Messi. He won the award in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017, cementing his place as one of the best footballers of his generation.

He is highly regarded in Europe, picking up the Best Player in Europe award four times, once at Manchester United (2008) and twice in Spain with Real Madrid (2014 and 2017). The 38-year-old is a five-time Champions League winner. He won the trophy with Manchester United in 2007-08 and four times with Real Madrid in 2013-14, 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18.

Although the FIFA Club World Cup is not as prestigious as the Champions League, winning it does boost a player’s worldwide appeal, and with five wins under his belt, few players come close. He first won the competition in 2018 during his first spell at Manchester United and repeated the feat with Real Madrid (2014 and 2016) and Juventus in 2018.

Scoring goals is essential if you are among the highest-paid footballers, and Ronaldo has scored goals wherever he has gone. He has won the Golden Boot five times in his career so far, twice in the Premier League with Manchester United in 2007-08 and then again in 2014-15, and three times in La Liga while at Real Madrid in 2010-11, 2013-14, and 2014-15.

His exploits with his National team have also boosted his profile, enabling him to be the highest-paid footballer in the world. He has represented Portugal at five World Cup tournaments, scoring eight goals. He also played a pivotal role in Portugal’s Euro 2016 triumph, scoring three goals and leading his country to its first-ever major international trophy.

Ronaldo claiming the award as the highest-earning footballer is mainly due to his ridiculously lucrative move abroad to Saudi Arabia after his contract with Manchester United was terminated after an interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV.

Al Nassr is a well-known Saudi Professional League (SPL) club, the country’s top division, comprising 18 teams. The club has won nine titles and finished third last season, six points behind champions Al Hilal. The club were prepared to make Ronaldo the most paid footballer by paying him £173 million a year.

For a club that only earned £21.4m in commercial revenue the year before Ronaldo joined, the Saudi government are likely subsidising his wages to boost the country’s football profile, especially as their neighbours Qatar held the World Cup last year.

Ronaldo’s wages are the highest football salary, yet only account for three-quarters of his yearly income, with approximately £50m coming from other sources. Nike, Herbalife, DAZN, Clear, MTG, Altice Portugal, Garena Free Fire, American Tourister, LiveScore, TAG Heuer, and Louis Vuitton are some companies that Ronaldo has endorsed over the years.

The Nike deal is particularly lucrative as it’s a “for life” deal, only the third such deal that the company has in place.

Apart from his endorsements, Ronaldo has invested in various ventures. He launched his signature perfume brand, CR7 Fragrances, in 2017, and it is now present in over 40 countries worldwide. The same year, he invested in the Portuguese hotel chain Pestana and launched the Pestana CR7 Lifestyle Hotels in Madrid and New York’s Times Square.

He also purchased a majority stake in a Portuguese agency, Thing Pink, which was later rebranded to 7EGEND, and launched a hair transplant clinic in Madrid, Spain, called Insparya in March 2019.

Kylian Mbappé – PSG – £93m Yearly

The answer to the question, “who is the highest-paid footballer” may soon change if Kylian Mbappé continues his meteoric rise, and with youth on his side, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Mbappé dislodge Ronaldo within a few years.

Kylian Mbappé is undoubtedly one of the world’s most exciting and talented footballers today. He is already a household name, thanks to his impressive performances during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

At just 24 years old, Mbappé has already earned an estimated £170 million in salary, making him one of the highest-paid players in the world. He’s also a valuable brand ambassador for companies like Nike, Oakley and EA Sports and is involved in various entertainment ventures, cementing his status as a true icon.

Born in Paris in 1998 to a sporting family, his mother, Fayza Lamari, is a former handball player, and his father, Wilfried, is a football coach and acts as Mbappé’s agent, which is probably why he is one of the highest-paid players in the world. He began his professional playing career at Monaco, making the first team at 17. A year later, he moved to PSG in a transfer worth €180 million, making him the second-most expensive player of all time and the most expensive teenage player of all time.

Since then, he has won four Ligue 1 titles and three Coupes de France, including a domestic quadruple in the 2019–20 season. He also led the club to its first-ever UEFA Champions League Final in 2020.

At the international level, Mbappé debuted for France in 2017 at age 18. He played a pivotal role in France’s victory in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, scoring four goals in the tournament and becoming the second teenager, after Pelé, to score in a World Cup Final. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, France reached the final, and Mbappé won the Golden Boot and Silver Ball, setting the record for the most goals scored in World Cup finals.

When you examine the player’s wages at PSG, it’s no wonder that the youngster is one of the highest-earning footballers. His contract is worth £192.24m over three years, equating to about £64.08m per year and around £1,232,338 per week. His salary is so high that it equates to a team-high 19.56% of PSG’s entire payroll. A move could be on the cards with his contract fast running down. Real Madrid is rumoured to want him and is one of the few clubs that could afford his massive wages.

Mbappé has already amassed an impressive collection of trophies, including the World Cup, five domestic league titles, and a UEFA Nations League trophy. However, his standout performance in the 2018 World Cup, where he scored in the final against Croatia, was a crowning achievement in his career. At the club level, he has won five Ligue 1 titles and reached the UEFA Champions League final in 2020, where his team lost to Bayern Munich.

Although Mbappé is one of the world’s highest-paid footballers, a surprise is that he earns a comparatively low amount from off-field activities. Of his estimated £108m a year income, the majority (£92.87m) is from wages, with just £15.20m from endorsements and investments.

Lionel Messi – PSG £55m Yearly

The top three of the top-paid footballers list is completed by Lionel Messi, who, like Ronaldo, is regarded as one of the greatest to have ever played the game.

As things stand, Messi’s current contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will end in just seven months, after which he will be a free agent. However, reports suggest that PSG is keen to extend his contract and retain his services, but they will face stiff competition from his former club, Barcelona.

According to Capology, Messi’s current one-year contract with PSG is worth £55,617,284 with a weekly wage of £1,069,562. This salary accounts for 17.32% of PSG’s 2022-23 payroll, making him one of the highest-paid players at the club. However, his gross weekly pay is second only to Kylian Mbappe, who earns £1,232,338 weekly.

While his teammate Mbappé eclipses Messi on wages, the youngster has a very long way to go to match Messi’s achievements in the game.

The iconic No.10 has all but completed the trophy bingo of modern football and seemed to be finishing his career on the global stage with an almighty bang. His magic in the final third has amazed football fans for the past 15 years. As a result, he has won numerous individual honours, including seven Ballon d’Or wins, a record that will take some beating with his archrival Cristiano Ronaldo stuck on five and playing away from the main stage.

Messi’s habit of picking up titles began during his club career with Barcelona. In 2021, when he finally left the Camp Nou, he had won a stunning 34 team trophies with the Catalans. In addition, he won 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles, seven Supercopa de Espana titles, four UEFA Champions League titles, three UEFA Super Cup titles, and three FIFA Club World Cup titles.

Messi’s trophy cabinet at the international level has quickly filled up over the past two years, with the 2022 World Cup being his crowning glory. He won his first senior-level title with Argentina in 2021 when he won the Copa America final on his fourth attempt. He had previously won titles with Argentina’s U20 and Olympic teams earlier in his career.

Like Ronaldo, Messi has not been shy in using his brand image to make endorsements. Messi’s sponsors and endorsements include Adidas, Ooredoo, Lay’s, Gatorade, Pepsi, Jacob & Co., Budweiser, Mengniu, Pro Evolution Soccer, Orcam, Messicirque, Hard Rock International, SIRIN LABS, SikSilk, LEAFTY, Socios.com, Saudi Tourism Authority, Byju’s, Louis Vuitton, and J&T Express. The deal with Adidas mirrors Ronaldo’s one with Nike and is a “for life” agreement that nets him £18 million every year.

As one of the world’s highest-paid footballers, Messi’s recent deals have been very topical. The star is promoting LEAFTY, a cryptocurrency conceived to protect the environment and deal with the stigma around cryptocurrency. He also has his own clothing range, The Messi Store, a collaboration between Messi and Ginny Hilfiger, sister of Tommy Hilfiger.

Neymar – PSG – £46m Yearly

Neymar is the third PSG player in our list of highest-earning footballers, with a salary estimated at £46m per year with the French club. He earns significantly less than Mbappé and Messi but still takes home a substantial amount.

Neymar’s career started at 17 at the Brazilian club Santos, and there he helped his team win several championships, including the Copa Libertadores in 2011, the first since 1963. In 2013, he moved to Spain to play for Barcelona, joining a star-studded attack featuring Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. The highlight of his time at Barcelona was winning the continental treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League.

In 2017, he made a world-record transfer to Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of €222 million, making him one of the highest-earning footballers. During his time in Paris, PSG achieved a domestic quadruple in the 2019-20 season, and Neymar led the club to its first-ever Champions League final in the same year.

Unfortunately for PSG, although Neymar is one of the highest-earning footballers, he cannot feature for the club due to injury. The 31-year-old has to undergo surgery to repair ankle ligaments and will be out for the rest of the season.

Neymar is reportedly worth £170m and has over 23 endorsement deals in place.

Mohamed Salah – Liverpool – £30m Yearly

Last year, Liverpool fans breathed a massive sigh of relief when the Egyptian committed his future to the club by signing a new three-year contract. The deal will see him stay with the Reds until 2025, and he will reportedly earn over £350,000 per week, making him the highest-paid player in Liverpool’s history.

Last season was one of the finest Salah has had in Liverpool colours scoring an impressive 31 goals and providing 16 assists in 51 appearances. His outstanding performances were recognised by the Professional Footballers’ Association, which awarded him the Player’s Player of the Year award. He is also highly regarded by Premier League betting fans, who often back him in the goalscoring markets.

Salah has been an instrumental player at Liverpool FC in the club’s success. He helped lead the team to victory in the Champions League in the 2018-19 season and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019. He was also a key player in Liverpool’s English Premier League triumph in 2020.

Salah has won several individual awards, including the FIFA Puskás Award in 2018 and the Player of the Tournament award in the 2018-19 FIFA Club World Cup. He has also been a consistent performer in the UEFA Champions League, scoring a total of 21 goals in 38 appearances for Liverpool.

Such is Salah’s marketability that the 30-year-old earns almost as much from endorsement deals as he does from his Liverpool wages. Of the £45m he makes in total, over £15m is from contracts with companies such as Adidas, Vodafone, and Uber.

Controversies Surrounding High Footballer Salaries

The high salaries earned by footballers have been a topic of controversy and debate for many years. Some argue that footballers are overpaid, and their wages are disproportionate to the value they provide to society, especially compared to other occupations such as nurses, doctors, teachers and other public sector workers. In contrast, others say they are paid what the market dictates.

Here are some of the key arguments for and against high footballer salaries:

The case for high footballer salaries:

Footballers are highly skilled athletes who entertain millions of people around the world.

The market for footballers is highly competitive, with teams vying for the best talent to improve their chances of success.

Top football clubs generate massive revenue, with many earning millions of pounds each year. In addition, talent attracts supporters, which can also boost income.

The case against high footballer salaries:

Football players’ pay far exceeds an average worker’s wage.

Footballers are not providing a necessary service to society, and their salaries are unjustified compared to critical workers.

Football players’ high salaries are hard to justify when there is a cost-of-living crisis, and many people are forced to use food banks.

Despite these controversies, it seems likely that high footballer salaries will continue to be discussed and debated for years. As the market for footballers grows, it will be interesting to see how salaries evolve and impact the sport and society.

*All wage information is taken from Statista, and is subject to change.

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