The Top 10 Footballers Salaries Revealed
Even if you say some of these salaries quickly, it's still an insane amount of money.
10. Antoine Griezmann – $27.5m ($22m salary, $5.5m endorsements)
A clause in the contract that Atletico signed to take Griezman back from Barcelona on loan says that if he plays more than half the games for which he is available during the whole two-year loan spell, then Atletico are obliged to pay €40million to sign him permanently. That clause also defines playing a game as playing 45 minutes or more. As such, Atletico are only deploying him for around half an hour plus stoppage time in their games this season and attempting to renegotiate the clause with Barca at the same time. What a strange situation but at that salary, we don't think he will be losing too much sleep over it.
9. Kevin De Bruyne – $29m ($25.5m salary, $3.5m endorsements)
Over at Man City, De Bruyne has almost certainly been the best player in the world’s most lucrative league over the last five seasons so it's easy to see why he earns the big bucks.
8. Raheem Sterling – $29.4m ($21.4m salary, $8m endorsements)
Another Man City man, while Sterling isn't quite earning as much as team mate De Bruyne, he certainly rakes it in in terms of marketing. Sterling has big deals with New Balance for his boots and with Apple for all of his technological needs and Gilette for those all-important shaves.
7. Andres Iniesta – $30m ($23m, $7m endorsements)
Iniesta proves that just because your career may be over in the major leagues, doesn't mean you stop earning with his move to Japan proving to be a lucrative one. The former Barcelona star has been playing for Vissel Jobe since 2018 and signed a new contract in 2021 that will keep him at the club until this year. Given the salary on offer, it’s not that surprising he decided to stay.
Iniesta also has sponsorship deals with big-name Japanese brands like Nissan, Asics and Konami as well as GeneLife.
6. Eden Hazard – $31.1m ($28.6m salary, $2.5m endorsements)
Since his record-breaking £103million move to the Spanish capital, the Belgian has scored just seven goals in three and a bit seasons. Let's hope next season things start to look up or it might be bye-bye mega bucks.
5. Mohamed Salah – $39.5m ($24.5m salary, $15m endorsements)
Yet another footballer who seems to find themselves in a bit of a career slump is Saleh, who, after signing an eye-watering £350,000-a-week Liverpool contract in August 2022, his prowess on the field seems to have slid somewhat.
But it's not all bad news for the forward as owing to his megastar status in Egypt and the MENA region more generally, Salah also attracts very significant sponsorship deals with the likes of Adidas, Pepsi, Vodafone and Uber.
4. Neymar – $91m ($56m salary, $35m endorsements)
Neymar is on the third-highest salary in world football – which also happens to be the third-highest salary at his club PSG. Like so many footballers, the Brazilian has dived head-first into the incomprehensible whirlpool of NFTs and crypto, releasing a ‘digital collection’ with NFTSTAR ensuring success on and off the pitch.
3. Lionel Messi – $110m ($62m salary, $48m endorsements)
Look, I don't know much about football but even I know who Messi is. Once on the top of this list, he is now in third place but after France's recent World Cup win, that may well go up.
2. Kylian Mbappe – $125m ($105m, $20m endorsements)
Mbappe recently revealed to the New York Times that French President Emmanuel Macron personally got on the phone to convince him not to leave PSG for Real Madrid this summer. He is quoted as saying: “He told me: ‘I don’t want you to leave now. You are so important for the country.’ Of course, when the president says that to you, that counts.”
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – $208.6m ($74.6m salary, $133.84m endorsements)
This surely won't come as much surprise with Ronaldo in at number one. Thanks to his hugely marketable personality and looks, he is the one footballer whose endorsement deals actually eclipse his on the pitch salary.
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