Cristiano Ronaldo leads a group of ten footballers collectively earning $945 million this season, but as the sun sets on his legendary career, two young stars are stepping into the spotlight.
For a brief moment this summer, Cristiano Ronaldo seemed to be on the verge of ending his illustrious soccer career. The 40-year-old superstar forward’s contract was expiring at Al Nassr, the Saudi Pro League club he had joined in 2023, and he had just led Portugal to victory in the UEFA Nations League tournament, offering him an opportunity to hang up his boots on a high note. But Ronaldo quickly dispelled the retirement speculation and re-upped with Al Nassr on a two-year deal.
“I think I’m still producing good things; I’m helping my club and the national team,” he told Portuguese television network Canal 11 in October. “Why not keep going?”
The money doesn’t hurt, either. Forbes estimates Ronaldo will earn $230 million from Al Nassr during the 2025-26 season, a sum that is believed to incorporate financial incentives from commercial agreements facilitated by his club, in addition to his playing wages. Factor in the $50 million he will collect off the field from partners including Nike, Binance and Herbalife, and Portugal’s favorite son is slated to pull in $280 million in total earnings over the coming year before taxes and agents’ fees.
That astonishing figure, which is roughly in line with Forbes’ projection for Ronaldo for the 2024-25 season, gives him the top spot among the world’s highest-paid soccer players for the sixth time in the last decade. In fact, among all the athletes Forbes has tracked since 1990, only one has surpassed that number in a single year while active in his sport: boxer Floyd Mayweather, who hauled in an estimated $300 million over the 12 months ending in June 2015 and $285 million three years later.
Ronaldo’s sky-high total also puts a fair amount of distance between him and his longtime rival Lionel Messi of Inter Miami, who ranks No. 2 among the sport’s top earners at $130 million in projected total income.
Combined, the world’s ten highest-paid soccer players are set to earn an estimated $945 million during the 2025-26 campaign, with the cutoff for inclusion on the list rising to the $43 million total of Barcelona’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, up from Kevin De Bruyne’s $39 million at Manchester City last season.
However, the top ten is collectively down nearly 4% from 2024-25—in large part because Neymar, No. 3 on last year’s list and one of soccer’s best-paid players ever, has fallen out of the ranking entirely.
Last season, the Brazilian star was in line to collect $110 million, including $80 million from his contract with Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal. However, Neymar and the team agreed to terminate his deal in January, and he returned to Santos, his boyhood club in Brazil, in a move that required him to take a significant pay cut. Even after he signed a new contract in June that reportedly gives him the option to stay put through the 2026 World Cup, Forbes estimates Neymar will collect only $38 million in total earnings this season—the majority coming off the field.
Despite the top-ten slots opened up by the absence of Neymar and De Bruyne, who also dropped off the ranking after his move to Napoli, and despite a hot transfer market this summer that featured a record $4 billion in spending by English Premier League clubs, this year’s earnings list is dominated by eight usual suspects, none of whom changed teams during the off-season.
Karim Benzema nabs the No. 3 spot with $104 million in projected total earnings as he plays out the final year of his contract with Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé (an estimated $95 million) comes in at No. 4. Rounding out the top five is Erling Haaland, who signed a nine-and-a-half-year extension with Manchester City in January amid another dominant season that featured 22 goals in 31 Premier League games. His new deal pushes his estimated salary and expected bonuses to $60 million in 2025-26, on top of his off-field income of $20 million.
Vinicius Jr. returns to the list at No. 6 with expected total earnings of $60 million, but the 25-year-old forward, who was the youngest player in last year’s ranking, can no longer claim that distinction. His Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham, No. 9 this year with an estimated $44 million, is just 22, but even he is older than Barcelona’s Yamal, the first 18-year-old to crack the top ten in the 22-year history of Forbes’ soccer list.
Those two newcomers give Spain’s La Liga the edge as the ranking’s best-represented league, with four players qualifying for the list. The Saudi Pro League follows with three players—Ronaldo, Benzema and Al Nassr’s Sadio Mané (No. 8, $54 million)—and the Premier League has two, between Haaland and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (No. 7, $55 million). Messi remains the lone representative of MLS.
Even more important, Bellingham and Yamal’s arrival signals that a youth movement is underway in global soccer. Five of the ten highest-paid footballers are 29 or younger—the largest share of the ranking since 2020—and the average age of the list has ticked down just below 30, the lowest it has been in five years.
Ronaldo may still lead the financial table, but the youngsters are looking ready for promotion.
SOCCER’S 10 HIGHEST-PAID PLAYERS 2025
#1. $280 million
Age: 40 | Club: Al Nassr | Nationality: Portugal | On-Field: $230 million • Off-Field: $50 million
Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images
It’s hard to imagine Ronaldo has any room left in his trophy case between his five Ballon d’Or awards, four UEFA Champions League titles and slew of domestic championships in England, Spain and Italy. But at 40, the superstar forward still has his sights set on two more accomplishments: his 1,000th career goal in all club and international competitions—currently just 52 scores away—and a World Cup triumph at the 2026 tournament in North America with his native Portugal, which has never placed higher than third. Off the field, Ronaldo continues to grow his CR7-branded businesses, which include hotels, fitness gyms and watches, and his YouTube channel, UR Cristiano, now has roughly 77 million subscribers. Across all digital platforms, according to marketing agency Two Circles, he has nearly 1.04 billion followers—more than any other person on the planet.
#2. $130 million
Age: 38 | Club: Inter Miami | Nationality: Argentina | On-Field: $60 million • Off-Field: $70 million
Whether Messi had a future in MLS beyond this season was uncertain for much of the year, but he now looks all but guaranteed to return to Inter Miami. Reports last month indicated that the 38-year-old forward was close to finalizing a multi-year contract extension with the South Florida-based club, which would fulfill owner Jorge Mas’ prediction last year, when he told Forbes he was “highly confident” his star would return in 2026. The rest of the soccer world is also waiting on Messi, to see whether he attempts to make a record-setting sixth appearance at the World Cup next summer with his native Argentina. (His longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal could reach the same milestone at the tournament in North America.) Away from the pitch, Messi has endorsement deals with brands such as Adidas, Lay’s and Mastercard, and he launched a sports drink, Más+ by Messi, in 2024, adding to a portfolio that includes the MiM hotel line he created alongside Majestic Hotel Group in 2017. This year, Messi also joined restaurant chain El Club de la Milanesa as a global partner and shareholder.
#3. $104 million
Age: 37 | Club: Al Ittihad | Nationality: France | On-Field: $100 million • Off-Field: $4 million
Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images
Benzema may be 37, but through two games this season in the Saudi Pro League, he has scored three goals, showing he still has the offensive touch he displayed in his prime across 14 seasons with Real Madrid. How long Benzema plans to remain in the Middle East is unclear, however. The French forward’s contract with Al Ittihad is set to expire at the end of this season, leading some to speculate that he might return to Europe—perhaps to reunite with his former manager José Mourinho, now at Portugal’s Benfica. While Benzema’s social following pales in comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s, he still boasts an impressive 76 million followers on Instagram, where he has plugged partners such as Adidas and Assaf Perfumes in the past year.
#4. $95 million
Age: 26 | Club: Real Madrid | Nationality: France | On-Field: $70 million • Off-Field: $25 million
Pedro Castillo/Real Madrid/Getty Images
Mbappé’s quest for his first Champions League title ended in the quarterfinals last season, his debut with Real Madrid. To add insult to injury, the French forward had to watch his former club Paris Saint-Germain win the tournament. That’s not his only gripe with PSG, either: Mbappé is suing the team for $61 million in allegedly unpaid wages, and in another lawsuit that he has since dropped, he accused the club of treating him unfairly. As he awaits a result in the courtroom, Mbappé is building out an investment portfolio that includes a stake of more than 10% in German electronics company Loewe and 80% of a second-tier French soccer club, Stade Malherbe Caen. This year, he bought into luxury watch shopping platform Wristcheck and the France SailGP Team through his firm Coalition Capital.
#5. $80 million
Age: 25 | Club: Manchester City | Nationality: Norway | On-Field: $60 million • Off-Field: $20 million
Michael Regan/Getty Images
Haaland is off to yet another strong start for Manchester City, scoring 12 goals in nine matches across all competitions this season and earning the Premier League’s Player of the Month honors in September. With 94 goals in 104 career Premier League matches, the 25-year-old striker is also on pace to become the fastest player to reach 100 scores at the top of England’s soccer pyramid, ahead of Alan Shearer, who needed 124 games. Off the field, Haaland has a lucrative endorsement deal with Nike and works with brands in his native Norway including fruit and vegetable distributor Bama Gruppen and Godfisk, an initiative to promote seafood consumption. This year, he added an equity stake in Db as he signed a partnership with the Scandinavian luggage brand, which is also backed by luxury goods giant LVMH.
#6. $60 million
Age: 25 | Club: Real Madrid | Nationality: Brazil | On-Field: $40 million • Off-Field: $20 million
Cesar Ortiz Gonzalez/Soccrates/Getty Images
Vinicius has built an enviable collection of nearly a dozen sponsors, including Nike, Hugo Boss and Prada Eyewear, while becoming a star for Real Madrid, with 110 goals and 79 assists in 330 career matches. But while the 25-year-old forward has already scored or assisted on nine goals this season and is only a year removed from finishing as the runner-up in voting for the Ballon d’Or, a perceived dip in his form has made his future the subject of speculation. Vinicius is under contract in Madrid until 2027, but recent reports have suggested that Los Blancos might look to unload him next summer, with the Saudi Pro League emerging as one possible destination.
#7. $55 million
Age: 33 | Club: Liverpool | Nationality: Egypt | On-Field: $35 million • Off-Field: $20 million
Despite suggesting the 2024-25 season would be his last with Liverpool, Salah in April signed a two-year deal to stay at Anfield until 2027. The Egyptian forward had another reason to celebrate a few weeks later as he won his second Premier League title with Liverpool, his home since 2017. In their follow-up campaign, although they have lost two straight league games, the Reds trail Arsenal by just a point for the top spot in the table and once again have championship aspirations. Salah has also punched his ticket to the 2026 World Cup, scoring two goals in a qualifying victory over Djibouti last week that secured his home country’s bid out of Africa. It will be Egypt’s second appearance at the tournament during Salah’s lifetime, after he scored the nation’s only two goals in a winless showing in 2018.
#8. $54 million
Age: 33 | Club: Al Nassr | Nationality: Senegal | On-Field: $50 million • Off-Field: $4 million
Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images
Mané’s contract with Al Nassr is set to expire at the end of this season, but there’s little doubt as to whether he wants to remain in the Middle East. Asked about his future in August, the 33-year-old Senegalese winger replied in Arabic “inshallah,” translating to “God willing.” In the meantime, Mané and Al Nassr are poised to compete for the Saudi Pro League title coming off a third-place finish in 2024-25. After retaining key players Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo Brozović and adding rising Portuguese star João Félix, the club has won its first four domestic matches this season. Off the field, Mané has a long-running partnership with New Balance.
#9. $44 million
Age: 22 | Club: Real Madrid | Nationality: England | On-Field: $29 million • Off-Field: $15 million
Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Bellingham joined Real Madrid two years ago on what soccer database Transfermarkt lists as the seventh-most-expensive transfer in the sport’s history, with the Spanish club paying nearly $140 million for the English midfielder. The move paid dividends immediately as Los Blancos won the Champions League and La Liga titles in 2023-24. Bellingham has also starred for England’s national team and last week was named the country’s Player of the Year for 2024-25, although he was left off the roster for World Cup qualifiers given his limited minutes this season in his return from off-season shoulder surgery. Away from the pitch, Bellingham works with brands including Adidas and British beverage company Lucozade and is a mental health advocate. “It’s the duty of people like me—and the positions we’re in—to be role models,” he said last week in an interview for World Mental Health Day.
#10. $43 million
Age: 18 | Club: Barcelona | Nationality: Spain | On-Field: $33 million • Off-Field: $10 million
Since exploding onto the scene with Barcelona in 2023 as a 15-year-old, Yamal has helped Spain win the Euro 2024 tournament and last season returned Barça to the top of the table in La Liga. The club quickly rewarded him, signing the young winger in May to a contract that runs until 2031. Two months later, Barcelona bequeathed its iconic No. 10 shirt—worn by greats such as Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi—to Yamal. He is also starting to translate the momentum into opportunities off the pitch, recently adding Beats by Dre to a sponsor portfolio that already included Adidas, Konami and Powerade and trademarking his “304” celebration with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, with an eye on selling branded merchandise. Over the past year, Yamal has more than doubled his social audience to nearly 77 million followers, and his engagement rate dwarfs that of other soccer superstars. Across 97 posts tracked by Two Circles, Yamal averaged more than 33 million views and engagements—five and a half times the comparable figure for soccer’s social media king, Cristiano Ronaldo.
METHODOLOGY
The Forbes ranking of the world’s highest-paid soccer players reflects on-field earnings estimates for the 2025-26 season, including base salaries, bonuses and, in some cases, club-based image rights agreements. (For Lionel Messi, who plays on MLS’s calendar-year schedule, the on-field earnings figure reflects his 2025 compensation.)
Off-field estimates reflect annual cash from endorsements, licensing, appearances and memorabilia, as well as cash returns from any businesses in which the athlete has a significant interest. In the case of certain players, such as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, club or league sponsors are believed to subsidize their playing contracts, and that value is accounted for in the on-field estimates.
The figures are derived from publicly available databases, including Capology.com, and from conversations with industry insiders. Most asked to remain anonymous, but Forbes would like to acknowledge soccer correspondent Tancredi Palmeri, DODICI Sports Management’s Mariano Trasande and Xeric Sports Management’s Shea Richard Soma.
All figures are converted to U.S. dollars using the current exchange rate. Forbes does not include investment income such as interest payments or dividends but does account for payouts from equity stakes athletes have sold. Forbes does not deduct taxes or agents’ fees. Transfer fees are excluded.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2025/10/16/the-worlds-highest-paid-soccer-players-2025/