Highest Paid Soccer Players in the World
Soccer is the most famous game with over a billion people watching the World every year and FIFA generating at least 5 billion dollars in revenue.
Despite earning high, both Messi and Ronaldo have been faced with accusations of tax fraud. Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, in 2016, were found guilty on three counts of defrauding revenue authorities of 4.6 million dollars.
Ronaldo, in 2017, was accused by the Spanish government of defrauding Spain’s tax authorities of around 17.5 million dollars.
Players are cashing in, I thought of converting the dollars to Kenyan shillings and hit me, the numbers are too many and it is only sensible to present them to you in dollars. Here are the eight highest paid soccer players in the world:
- Lionel Messi
Pay: 111 Million dollars
Salary/winnings: 84 Million dollars
Endorsements: 27 Million dollars
Country: Argentina
Club: FC Barcelona
Position: Forward
Age: 31 Years Old
Lionel Messi is currently the world’s highest-paid soccer player. Argentina’s national has played for FC Barcelona ever since 2000 when he was just 13 years of age. Messi, in 2017, signed a contract to stay with the club through the 2020-2021 season which included an estimated $822 million buyout clause. Messi is a father of three boys.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
Pay: 108 Million Dollars
Salary/winnings: 61 Million Dollars
Endorsements: 47 Million dollars
Country: Portugal
Club: Real Madrid
Position: Forward
Age: 33 Years Old
Cristiano Ronaldo follows Messi closely becoming the world’s 2nd highest-paid player. Ronaldo signed a contract to extend his stay with Real Madrid in 2016. The contract is expected to value his stay to be worth more than 50 million dollars a year before it is taxed.
Cristiano has previously landed lucrative endorsement deals from companies like Tag Heuer and Nike. Ronaldo is a father of four.
3. Neymar da Silva Santos
Pay: 90 Million dollars
Salary/winnings: 73 Million dollars
Endorsements: 17 Million dollars
Country: Brazil