The Top 20 Earners In Football Have Been Revealed

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the best two footballers in the world and unsurprisingly they also lead the world of football when it comes to yearly earnings.

It's not going to be on any breaking news that footballers are well paid. Stories about Paul Pogba being offered £500k-a-week aren't even that shocking to us anymore, even if we can still question if he's earned it.

But wages are just the start of it with bonuses and endorsements also stretching into the millions. Forbes have released their rich list of football's top earning players and there's some eye watering amounts of money being made.

1. Lionel Messi - $127 million-a-year

Lionel Messi tops the charts. Image: PA Images

2. Cristiano Ronaldo - $109 million

3. Neymar - $105 million

4. Paul Pogba - $33 million

The gap between third and fourth is huge. Image: PA Images

5. Andres Iniesta - $32.5 million

6. Alexis Sanchez- $30.8 million

7. Kylian Mbappe - $30.6 million

8. Mesut Ozil - $30.2 million

Stealing a living. Image: PA Images

9. Oscar - $29 million

10. Antoine Griezmann - $27.7 million

11. Gareth Bale - $27.1 million

12. Mo Salah - $25.1 million

Salah's earnings have shot up in recent years. Image: PA Images

13. Angel di Maria - $23.7 million

14. Luis Suarez - $23.6 million

15. Sergio Aguero - $22.6 million

16. Thiago Silva - $22.5 million

17. James Rodriguez - $22.1 million

18. Sergio Ramos - $21.9 million

19. Graziano Pelle - $21.7 million

20. Gerard Pique - $21.7 million

World Cup winner, plays for Barcelona, married to Shakira, earns $21.7 million-a-year, Gerard Pique is the worst. Image: Instagram

To break it down Messi earns $92 million in salary and bonuses every year, nice work if you can get it, and another $35 million in endorsements.

Ronaldo's $44 million endorsements are the highest in that area but he doesn't earn as much as his rivals when it comes to wages at their clubs.

Which player least deserves their money?

Topics: Paul Pogba, Football News, World Football, Neymar, Lionel Messi, Alexis Sanchez, gareth bale, Kylian Mbappe, Mo Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a writer for SPORTbible. He covers all sport from football, formula one, cricket, rugby, tennis, athletics, mma and wrestling. He obviously hates YOUR football team and has no interest in synchronised swimming.

@Sidler28