Cristiano Ronaldo is now the highest-paid footballer in the world – but he and Lionel Messi both still sit in the top two spots despite taking significant pay cuts.
The two stars made summer moves with Ronaldo leaving Juventus for Manchester United and Messi shockingly departing Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain.
The former took a cut in his wages to facilitate an early exit from Italy back to Old Trafford, while the latter saw the salary he was receiving in Spain halved in his new contract.
That substantial dip means Ronaldo has beaten his rival in Forbes' list of the best-paid players in the world for the 2021/22 season.
He is potentially going to make £91.5m over the course of the campaign. In comparison, Messi could earn himself up to £80.5m, an £11m difference.
Ronaldo's deal with the Red Devils could net him roughly £51.25m in wages, with the rest of his income coming from endorsements.
The Argentina captain actually has a higher maximum salary at £54.95m but will only receive £25.6m in sponsorship payments compared to Ronaldo's £40m.
Last year Messi was bagging £95.24m per season, whereas Ronaldo was behind him on £87.91m.
Fellow PSG players Neymar (£69.5m) and Kylian Mbappe (£31.5m) are third and fourth on the new list respectively.
Liverpool star Mohammed Salah is next, and Robert Lewandowski follows him on £26m with a major shock being 37-year-old Andres Iniesta, who still plays for Japanese club Vissel Kobe, in seventh place on the same amount.
Paul Pogba is eighth in the rankings (£25m) with Real Madrid's Gareth Bale coming in on £23.5m.
Eden Hazard rounds off the top 10 with £21m.
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
