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For the first time, Mbappé has
surpassed the old master
Messi
in the "Forbes" ranking
Photo:
FRANK FIFE;
ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP
In the final of the World Cup in Qatar, Kilian Mbappé and Lionel Messi (35) are not just two absolute football superstars.
The two team-mates at French giants Paris Saint-Germain, owned by the Qatar sheikhs, are also the top two earners in the industry.
According to the current "Forbes" ranking, Mbappé has passed Messi and
Cristiano Ronaldo
(37), who has also had excellent earnings for years, this year.
The Frenchman, who was actually willing to change, only extended his contract with Paris Saint-Germain in May.
During the negotiations, even French President
Emmanuel Macron
(44) intervened and insisted on staying.
In the end, the new contract in Paris should pay off extremely lucratively for Mbappé: a sum of over 600 million euros for three years is reported.
Mbappé's club, owned by the Emir of Qatar, denied the sum.
The US magazine "Forbes" estimates that the French superstar will earn a total of 128 million dollars before taxes and agent fees in the 2022/23 season.
The vast majority of this comes from the regular salary as a professional, Mbappé earns only 18 million dollars in addition to the space through advertising contracts with the sporting goods company Nike or the fashion house Dior.
The two long-time leaders Messi - the Argentinian is also under contract with Paris Saint-Germain - and the now unemployed Ronaldo, who have led the rankings since 2014, meanwhile have to be satisfied with places two and three.
That should probably not move her much, because her salary is still around $ 100 million.
Ronaldo is also the player with the most money to make off the field this season: a whopping $60 million.
It is currently unclear to what extent the sudden end at Manchester United will have an impact.
According to Forbes, the ten highest-paid soccer players in the 2022/23 season earned a record pre-tax income of $652 million.
This corresponds to an increase of 11 percent.
Last year, the top ten made $585 million.
The sums are gigantic and have often been criticized as excessive.
Especially since a number of highly paid professionals had trouble with the tax authorities, including Messi and Ronaldo.
However, the rise in income seems unstoppable.
Even during the coronavirus pandemic, the total for the top ten hasn't fallen despite some austerity measures, although some of the top earners have lost millions of dollars.
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Most of the total this year again focuses on the top three players: Mbappé, Messi and Ronaldo.
With the exception of
Neymar Jr.
(30), the sums of the following players, such as
Mohamed Salah
(30),
Robert Lewandowski
(34) and
Kevin De Bruyne
(31), are significantly lower.
The former Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland
(22) is new in the ranking among the top ten best-earning football players
– but the gap to Mbappé, who is only one year older, is considerable.
These are the top-earning players of the 2022/23 season:
10th place: Kevin De Bruyne
Total earnings:
$29 million
On the field:
$25 million
Off-game:
$4 million
Age:
31,
Nationality:
Belgian
Club:
Manchester City
Contract term:
until June 30, 2025
Kevin De Bruyne
is part of the squad for the Belgium national team.
The former Bundesliga player excels at Manchester City and is considered one of the best players in Belgian history.
Its market value is 80 million euros.
According to Forbes, De Bruyne's earnings this season add up to a total of $ 29 million - four million come from advertising contracts, including with Nike.
9th place: Andres Iniesta
Total earnings:
$30 million
On the field:
$25 million
Off-Game:
$5 million
Age:
38,
Nationality:
Spanish
Club:
Vissel Kobe
Contract
period: until 01/31/2024
Andreas Iniesta
has been under contract in Japan since 2018, advertising partner is Asics.
The Spaniard had spent almost his entire football career with Barcelona - from the Barça youth to the U19, Barcelona B and finally to the main team.
The 38-year-old's market value is estimated at €1.5 million, making it the lowest among the ten best-paid soccer players.
According to media reports, the Barça legend may now wish to return to the Catalans, but it is unlikely that he will succeed as a player.
Iniesta wants to fulfill his contract with the Japanese Vissel Kobe, it is said, after that everything is open.
He gets most of his earnings from his club, a smaller part comes from advertising partnerships.
8th place: Eden Hazard
Total earnings:
$31 million
On the field:
$27 million
Off-game:
$4 million
Age:
31,
Nationality:
Belgian
Club:
Real Madrid
Contract period:
until 6/30/24
Eden Hazard
experienced his rise
in Lille, from there it went to Chelsea and a few years later to Real Madrid - and with that happiness left him.
"From the feared world star to the unsuccessful reservist," wrote the "Bild" newspaper recently.
Allegedly Newcastle are interested in him.
The 31-year-old was one of the best players in the world until 2019.
His market value on the transfer market is now given as 7.5 million euros.
That's the second-lowest figure in the top ten highest-earning players.
According to Forbes, however, one cannot speak of failure in terms of earnings.
The magazine expects an impressive total of 31 million dollars for the Belgian in the 22/23 season.
Hazard is part of the national team squad for the World Cup, as is Eden's brother Thorgan, who plays for Borussia Dortmund.
7th place: Robert Lewandowski
Total earnings:
$35 million
On the field:
$27 million
Off the game:
$8 million
Age:
34,
Nationality:
Polish
Club:
Barcelona FC
Contract term:
until 30.6.26.
The multiple world footballer has been under contract with FC Barcelona since this season.
Robert Lewandowski
played for many years
for Bayern Munich.
His farewell was tough, as the people of Munich were reluctant to let him go.
He has now arrived in Barcelona - with advertising partner Nike in his luggage.
However, Lewandowski terminated the advertising contract with Huawei when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
He markets himself through his agency Stor9. Customers include Martini, BMW and T-Mobile, as can be read on the website.
His entrepreneurial activities also include the video game company RL9 Games.
He also invests in real estate in Poland.
In Warsaw, for example, he recently opened the restaurant and sports bar "Nine's".
With the marketing company RL Management, he made the headlines in the past because his ex-business partner accused him of having siphoned off money,
6th place: Erling Haaland
Total earnings:
$39 million
On the field:
$35 million
Off-game:
$4 million
Age:
22,
Nationality:
Norwegian
Club:
Manchester City
Contract term:
until June 30, 2027
The former Borussia Dortmund player is the youngest professional among the top ten highest-earning football stars.
Only since the summer in
Pep Guardiola
's team has
Erling Haaland
continued his career with the goals that Dortmund was used to.
Nike is one of the advertising partners, considering "only" four million dollars off the field, the Norwegian, who was born in British Leeds, seems to still have a lot to do.
His market value is given as 170 million euros.
5th place: Mohamed Salah
Total earnings:
$53 million
On the field:
$35 million
Off the game:
$18 million
Age:
30,
Nationality:
Egyptian
Club:
Liverpool FC
Contract term:
until June 30, 2025
Mohamed Salah's
market value is currently given as 80 million euros, so it is not surprising that he is also one of the top earners in football.
He only made clear his extension at Liverpool in the summer.
While the Egyptian often causes cheers on the pitch under coach
Jürgen Klopp
, advertising partnerships such as with Adidas bring him another 18 million dollars off the field.
4th place: Neymar Jr.
Total earnings:
$87 million
On the field:
$55 million
Off the game:
$32 million
Age:
30,
Nationality:
Brazilian
Club:
Paris Saint Germain FC
Contract term:
until June 30, 2025
While the top player faces a corruption and fraud case in Spain over his previous move from FC Santos to FC Barcelona,
Neymar Jr.
has been at Paris Saint-Germain since 2017.
The Brazilian only extended his contract last year, and his market value is given at 75 million euros.
Away from the field, it is mainly advertising contracts that bring the total earnings to $87 million.
3rd place: Cristiano Ronaldo
Total earnings:
$100 million
On the field:
$40 million
Off the game:
$60 million
Age:
37 years old,
Nationality:
Portuguese
Club:
Clubless
Contract term:
until June 30, 2023
The multiple world footballer has shaped an era.
Cristiano Ronaldo
dribbled
across the pitch for Real Madrid for a long time, until mid-November he played for Manchester United.
After a controversial interview in which Ronaldo complained about the manager and the club, Manchester United and the players parted ways without notice.
Ronaldo's transfer market value is currently given as 20 million euros.
It is currently unclear where he will play next.
Away from the football field, Ronaldo has invested in hotels and hair clinics and is active in various industries with his CR7 brand.
Most recently, the 37-year-old entered into an advertising partnership with the crypto exchange Binance.
2nd place: Lionel Messi
Total earnings:
$110 million
On the field:
$65 million
Off the game:
$55 million
Age:
35 years old,
Nationality:
Argentinian
Club:
Paris Saint Germain FC
Contract term:
until June 30, 2023
Lionel Messi
only moved to Paris last year.
Of course, the multiple world footballer is in the squad of the Argentine team at the World Cup, his value on the transfer market is currently given as 50 million euros.
In addition to his princely salary, the 35-year-old also has advertising contracts.
Earlier this year, for example, he signed a lucrative deal with crypto company Socios.com, which is expected to bring him $20 million.
He is now also promoting the Bitget crypto exchange.
1st place: Kylian Mbappe
Total earnings:
$128 million
On the field:
$110 million
Off the game:
$18 million
Age:
23 years old,
Nationality:
French
Club:
Paris Saint Germain FC
Contract term:
until June 30, 2025
Mbappé
only signed a three-year contract extension with Paris Saint-Germain in May, with which he raised the salary level significantly.
The market value of the 23-year-old is now 160 million euros.
In addition to his salary, according to Forbes, he has also signed contracts with Dior, Hublot, Oakley and Panini, which should bring him $ 18 million this season alone.
