Lionel Messi unshaken as he maintained his first position on Forbes’ list of highest-paid footballers after raking in $126 million (£98m) last year with Cristiano Ronaldo closing on his earnings behind him in second.
The Barcelona star forward shocked the footballing world last month when he announced to the club he has spent his entire career at, he wanted to leave after a trophyless campaign in 2019-20.
Messi thought he could effect a clause in his contract to leave for free, but Barca and La Liga disputed that claim and insisted his deal could only be terminated should his release clause be paid.
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The two parties began a standoff that saw Messi linked with big-money moves to Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter as the footballing landscape nearly changed due to Messi’s request.
Amid frustration with the Camp Nou board, and president Josep Maria Bartomeu in particular, Messi performed a dramatic U-turn, telling Goal that he has elected to stay with the embattled La Liga giants for at least the 2020-21 campaign.
He does so as the highest-paid footballer in the world after earning $126 million in salary and endorsements over the past 12 months.
His long-time rival Ronaldo is second on the list after bringing in earnings of $117 million (£91m) from his Juventus contract as well as his various endorsements away from the field.
Paris Saint-Germain stars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are third and fourth respectively as the duo are fresh off reaching the Champions League final with the French side, with Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah in fifth place as the Reds begin their Premier League title defense.
Other notable names on the list of the top 10 are French World Cup winners Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, Real Madrid outcast Gareth Bale, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and Manchester United’ David De Gea. See the list below:
Forbes’ top 10 highest-paid footballers:
1. Lionel Messi – $126m (£98m)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo – $117m (£91m)
3. Neymar – $96m (£74.7m)
4. Kylian Mbappe – $42m (£32.6m)
5. Mohamed Salah – $37m (£28.8m)
6. Paul Pogba – $34m (£26.5m)
7. Antoine Griezmann – $33m (£25.7m)
8. Gareth Bale – $29m (£22.6m)
9. Robert Lewandowski – $28m (£21.8m)
10. David De Gea – $27m (£21m)
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