The 10 highest-paid players in the world revealed

Suraj Radia

• 17 Oct 2025 06:08 CDT
• 4 min read

News

The top 10 largest earners in football all earn a collective total of more than $945 million (€807m) according to the latest Forbes list detailing the game’s highest-paid stars.

Having seen more than €5 billion spent on transfers during the summer window, it will perhaps come as no surprise to learn just how much football’s global superstars can generate from their salaries alone.

The rise of the Saudi Pro League and the influx of cash in the Premier League has influenced the game significantly, although the cumulative total of the top 10 salaries is understood to have dropped nearly 4% from last year, according to the list maker Forbes.

Five of the 10 highest-paid stars are also 29 or younger – the largest proportion of the ranking in five years, indicating that younger stars are slowly beginning to take over and dictate the market.

The 10 best paid players and their salaries were revealed this week by Forbes.

Who are the 10 highest-paid players in football and how much do they earn?

Having been named football’s first billionaire earlier this month, it is perhaps unsurprising that Cristiano Ronaldo remains the game’s highest-paid star, particularly after penning a new contract with Al-Nassr this summer.

The 40-year-old is reported to have a combined annual earning of $280m (€240m), $230m (€196m) of which comes from his salary with the Saudi Arabian side.

Expectedly behind Ronaldo is his long-time rival Lionel Messi with a total yearly earnings of $130m (€111m), although the majority of his money comes away from his Inter Miami contract, with $70m (€60m) coming through off-pitch endorsements.

However, Messi is expected to sign a new contract with Inter Miami in the coming months which could change his numbers dramatically.

The third-highest paid player in the world is Karim Benzema, having signed a $100m (€85m) annual contract with Al-Ittihad in 2023, which means even with just $4m (€3.4m) in off-pitch earnings, he is still one of football’s biggest earners.

Kylian Mbappe sits at number four in the list, earning $70m (€60m) per year at Real Madrid and adding $25m (€21m) through endorsements for a total of $95m (€81m.)

Erling Haaland completes the top five after signing a bumper new contract at Manchester City in January worth $60m (€51m) a year, alongside his external earnings of $20m (€17m) to combine for $80m (€68m.)

Vinicius Junior, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal make up the rest of the top 10, with Neymar and Kevin de Bruyne having dropped out after their transfers in the past year.

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