1 week Ago By Jim Sheridan
CRISTIANO Ronaldo is approaching 40 - but he keeps breaking records both on and off the field. The Portuguese superstar has earned more cash than any other footballer on the planet over the last 12 months. Ronaldo is into his third season in Saudi Arabia after joining Al-Nassr in 2022.
The 39-year-old penned a monster three-year deal with the club which runs until next summer. According to Forbes , Ronaldo took home a whopping £218millon last year. That is more than any other football player in history.
CR7 has also now led the annual list for the sixth time in the last decade. Four of the top 10 best-paid players in world football are currently plying their trade in the Saudi Pro League . Ronaldo earned £168m from his contract with Al-Nassr , raking in another £50m in sponsorship deals.
He beat Lionel Messi into a distant second place, with the Inter Miami superstar bringing in a total of £103m over the past year. BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS The World Cup winner has lucrative deals with Adidas, Apple TV and Konami, meaning he upstages Ronaldo in off-field earnings with £57m. But in terms of on-field contracts, Ronaldo's eye-watering Saudi deal towers over all his competitors.
Next on the rich list comes Neymar with £84m, who has endured an injury-hit spell since joining Al Hilal last summer. The club are paying the Brazilian a whopping £62m-a-year, with Neymar bringing in a further £23m in sponsorship. Karim Benzema, another Saudi-based star with Al Ittihad, takes home the second-highest on-field salary with £76m.
While Ronaldo's Al Nassr teammate Sadio Mane takes 9th spot on the list. By Etienne Fermie KYLIAN MBAPPE has entered his physical prime as he has FINALLY rubber-stamped his free transfer move to Real Madrid. The 25-year-old has grown from a boy to a man in Ligue 1, first with Monaco and then with current side Paris Saint-Germain .
Mbappe debuted for Monaco as a skinny 16-year-old in 2015. He even featured as a scrawny youngster against Tottenham at the old White Hart Lane that year, before fans realised what an icon he would become. The following season, Mbappe really rose to superstardom as Monaco reached the Champions League semi-finals.
In a throwback snap shared earlier this week, an 18-year-old Mbappe could be seen chatting to a reporter after grabbing a Champions League brace against Borussia Dortmund in April 2017. Read more on Mbappe's incredible rise on and off the field. Just three Premier League stars feature in this year's top 10, with Man City's Erling Haaland leading the way.
The 24-year-old goal machine earned £45m over the past 12 months as he continued to take the Prem by storm. But that figure could be set to rise as Haaland eyes a lucrative new deal with the reigning champions. Liverpool's Mo Salah and Man City's Kevin De Bruyne make up the remaining English-based players.
La Liga - who dominated this list just a decade ago - features just two stars, both playing for Real Madrid. French superstar Kylian Mbappe earned £69.1m over the past year following his long-awaited switch from PSG.
He is joined by teammate Vinicicus Jr., with the Ballon d'Or favourite taking home a cool £42m..
