Ronaldo Drops Behind Messi, 3 Others in List of Highest Paid Footballers in the World
- Cristiano Ronaldo ranks as the fifth highest-paid footballer in the world after his sensational return to the Theatre of Dreams
- The 36-year-old will reportedly be earning an annual salary of €23 million at Manchester United after 11 years away from the club
- Lionel Messi, Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Oscar complete the top five in the list of highest-earning players
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Cristiano Ronaldo accepted a pay cut to join Man United and it has affected his ranking in the top ten most paid footballers, Give Me Sport.
Football expert Tancredi Palmeri revealed on his social media handle that Ronaldo's £480,000-per-week has seen him drop from second-highest-paid star to fifth.
Source: UGC
The ranking is based on players net salary with no bonus or other income considered as pairs Saint-Germain's Lionel Messi tops the list.
The six-time Ballon d'Or winner who joined PSG as a free agent will be going home with a whopping €35m annually.
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Messi's teammate Neymar is second on the list grossing €30m while former Barcelona legend who now plies his trade in the J-League is third with Vissel Kobe with a yearly income of €25m.
Ex-Chelsea midfielder Oscar who now plays for Chinese Super League side Shanghai Port earns €24m annual salary.
Ronaldo is now pitched in fifth position and it is understood he will taking €23m annually on his return to Manchester United.
Here are the Top 10 best-paid footballers in the world based on their weekly wages
1. Lionel Messi €35m
2. Neymar €30m
3. Andres Iniesta €25m
4. Oscar €24m
5. Cristiano Ronaldo €23m
6. Antoine Griezmann €20m
7. Mohamed Salah €19.5m
8. Gareth Bale €16m
9. Philippe Coutinho €15.5m
10. Robert Lewandowski €15.5m
Ronaldo accepts pay cut on Man United return
In related news, Briefly News previously reported that Ronaldo had to accept a slight pay cut to rejoin Manchester United from Juventus days before the summer window closes, Give Me Sport.
The Red Devils met Juve's asking price of £23.1million and an agreement was made to re-sign the 36-year-old to end speculation about his future.
United were quick to release a statement regarding the development after negotiations with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner took just an hour to accept a transfer back to Old Trafford.
Source: Briefly News
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
Tshepiso Mametela (Head of Current Affairs Desk) Tshepiso Mametela is a seasoned journalist with eight years of experience writing for online and print publications. He is the current affairs Head of Desk at Briefly News. He was a news reporter for The Herald, a senior sports contributor at Opera News SA, and a reporter for Caxton Local Media’s Bedfordview and Edenvale News and Joburg East Express community titles. He has attended media workshops, including the crime and court reporting one by the Wits Justice Project and Wits Centre for Journalism in 2024. Email: tshepiso.mametela@briefly.co.za
