{"id":32553,"date":"2025-10-17T15:04:04","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T13:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=32553"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:45:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:45:23","slug":"forbes-unveils-10-highest-paid-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/forbes-unveils-10-highest-paid-players\/","title":{"rendered":"Forbes Unveils 10 Highest Paid Players in World Football"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has once again made history this time off the pitch. Widely regarded as one of football\u2019s greatest players, Ronaldo has built not only a legendary career but also a powerful global brand that continues to grow with age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earlier this month, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index confirmed that the 40-year-old had officially joined the billionaire ranks, thanks to his latest contract extension with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Forbes, the Madeira-born forward is now the highest-paid footballer in the world, earning an astonishing $230 million (R4 billion) on the field and an additional $50 million (R872 million) from sponsorships and endorsements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-messi-still-among-the-world-s-best-on-and-off-the-field\">Messi Still Among the World\u2019s Best \u2014 On and Off the Field<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Trailing closely behind is Ronaldo\u2019s long-time rival Lionel Messi, proving that their legendary rivalry, which began nearly two decades ago, remains alive today this time in terms of earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Inter Miami star opted for Major League Soccer over the Middle East, a decision that has turned out to be highly lucrative. The Argentine icon reportedly earns $130 million (R2.2 billion) annually through his playing contract and commercial partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-4292595589\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-rising-star-yamal-breaks-into-top-10\">Rising Star Yamal Breaks Into Top 10<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps the most surprising name on the list is Lamine Yamal, the 17-year-old sensation from Barcelona, who has quickly become one of the brightest young talents in the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Forbes reports that Yamal ranks 10th overall, earning an estimated $43 million (R750 million) a year, a remarkable figure for someone still in their teens. His rapid rise is a clear sign of his growing influence both on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Here&#039;s The World\u2019s Highest-Paid Soccer Players In 2025\" width=\"755\" height=\"425\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JUeThDKxjwo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-full-forbes-top-10-highest-paid-footballers-2025\">Full Forbes Top 10 Highest Paid Footballers (2025)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cristiano Ronaldo \u2013 $280 million (R4.8 billion)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lionel Messi \u2013 $130 million (R2.2 billion)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 \u2013 $110 million (R1.9 billion)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Neymar Jr. \u2013 $100 million (R1.7 billion)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Karim Benzema \u2013 $95 million (R1.6 billion)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Erling Haaland \u2013 $82 million (R1.4 billion)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mohamed Salah \u2013 $75 million (R1.3 billion)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kevin De Bruyne \u2013 $53 million (R920 million)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Harry Kane \u2013 $47 million (R820 million)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lamine Yamal \u2013 $43 million (R750 million)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-1165640956\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-business-of-modern-football\">The Business of Modern Football<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Football has evolved far beyond the pitch, with modern stars earning enormous sums through global sponsorships, personal brands, and media deals. Ronaldo and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.soccerladuma.co.za\/international\/rest-of-world\/ronaldo-messi-among-10-highest-paid-players-world-football-goat-superstars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Messi <\/a>remain at the top, but the entry of a teenager like Yamal highlights the new generation of marketable superstars ready to dominate the sport for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the global game expands to new markets, these figures are likely to rise even higher proving once again that football is not just a sport, but a multi-billion-dollar business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/top-10-highest-paid-psl-players-in-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top 10 Highest-Paid PSL Players in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has once again made history this time off the pitch. Widely regarded as one of football\u2019s greatest players, Ronaldo has built not only a legendary career but also a powerful global brand that continues to grow with age. Earlier this month, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index confirmed that the 40-year-old had officially<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":32554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has once again made history this time off the pitch. Widely regarded as one of football\u2019s greatest players, Ronaldo has...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[284,11118],"class_list":{"0":"post-32553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-football-news","10":"tag-latest-football-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32553"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32555,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32553\/revisions\/32555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}