Mbappé, Haaland and Bellingham – the top ten highest paid players in the Europe

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Vinicius joins top 10 

Cristiano Ronaldo remains the highest paid player in world football according to a new report, with the Portuguese star earning no less than a remarkable €263 million over the course of 2024. Each year Forbes magazine publish their list of the top 10 highest paid players across the world’s most popular sport and to no great surprise the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star remains on top. But which global stars are working hard to keep up with the 39-year-old talisman?  

Indeed, Forbes‘ information suggests that Ronaldo will earn a remarkable €203m from his salary at Saudi club Al Nassr, with a further €60m from his numerous sponsorship deals and ever-growing presence on social media – having just launched a YouTube channel that broke the record for the fastest channel to reach one million subscribers. Interestingly enough, Ronaldo actually makes less from his off-field income than second-placed Lionel Messi, who made €69m in 2024 from his sponsorship and extra income streams, but fell well behind his rival when it came to salaries, with Messi making €55.2m from Inter Miami in 2024. 

The growing influence of Saudi money flowing into the sport is evident when we take a look at the top 10, with no less than four players earning a wage from clubs in the Middle East. So much so that Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar (€101.2m income in 2024) claimed third place due to his high salary at Al Hilal, while former Madrid striker Karim Benzema actually overtook compatriot Kylian Mbappé into fourth place, having earned €96m over the course of 2024, which is notably more than the €83m Mbappé will earn this year. This, notably, is due to Mbappé actually taking a drop in salary to move from PSG to Real Madrid in the summer. Make sure to go through our gallery to see the full top 10.