The world s most profitable football player: annual income exceeds 1.6 billion yuan, net worth exceeds "ten digits"

Football is the "number one sport in the world". There are about 250 million people playing football in the world. Who is the most profitable football player? Here is a brief introduction based on data from Forbes. The total income of the ten highest-paid football players in the world (before tax and agent fees) totals 797 million euros (approximately RMB 6.6 billion), including on-field income (basic salary, bonuses, and club-based image rights agreements) + off-field income (endorsements and other commercial activities).

In terms of nationality, France has 2 players on the list, Portugal, Argentina, Norway, Brazil, Egypt, Senegal, the United Kingdom, and Spain each have 1 player. From the perspective of leagues, 4 are from La Liga, 3 are from Saudi Arabia, which has repeatedly invested heavily in recent years, 2 are from the Premier League, and 1 is from Major League Soccer (MLS).

Four La Liga players - Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, and Jude Bellingham respectively ranked fourth on the list (salary 60 million euros, total income 81 million euros ), sixth (salary 34 million euros, total income 51 million euros) and ninth (salary 25 million euros, total income 38 million euros), Barcelona’s Lamine Yamar (salary 28 million euros, total income 37 million euros) ranked tenth.

The 18-year-old Yamal is the youngest person on the list. He helped Spain win the 2024 European Cup, helped Barcelona regain the league championship, and won the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup. In July this year, he signed a ten-year contract with the team and extended it until 2031. At the same time, he wore the No. 10 jersey that symbolizes core heritage.

According to the latest data from Dezhuan, Yamal’s worth has risen from 180 million euros to 200 million euros, making him the most valuable player in world football today, surpassing Bellingham, Haaland, and Mbappe, who are worth 180 million euros.

3 Saudi Arabian players - Cristiano Ronaldo of Riyadh Victory (salary of 197 million euros, total income of 239 million euros), Sadio Mane (salary of 43 million euros, total income of 46 million euros) million euros), and Karim Benzema of Jeddah United (salary 85 million euros, total income 89 million euros)

The 40-year-old Ronaldo topped the Forbes football player income list for the sixth time in the past ten years, equivalent to about 1.64 billion yuan. On June 26 this year, he renewed his contract with the team for two years, with an annual after-tax salary of 200 million euros and a 15% stake in the club, worth 38.5 million euros.

It is worth mentioning that Ronaldo’s net worth has climbed to US$1.4 billion, becoming the first football player with a net worth of ten figures (i.e. 1 billion). In addition to his high salary, his commercial value off the court cannot be underestimated. His total number of fans on various social media accounts exceeds 1 billion.

On October 15, in the World Cup qualifying match between Portugal and Hungary, Ronaldo scored twice and became the sole top scorer in the history of the World Cup preliminaries with 41 goals. The Portugal captain recently said he has no plans to retire as he "continues to create good things".

Manchester City's Erling Haaland is one of the two Premier League players. The Norwegian star's income reached 68 million euros (salary 51 million euros), ranking fifth on the list. Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, who signed a two-year contract to stay with the team this summer, ranks seventh with an income of 47 million euros (salary of 30 million euros).

38-year-old Lionel Messi ranks second, with a total income of 111 million euros, including 51 million euros in salary and 60 million euros in off-field income, including endorsement contracts with Adidas, Lay's, Mastercard and other brands. Last year he also launched his own sports drink brand Más+ by Messi.

In the 2025 MLS regular season, Messi contributed 29 goals and 19 assists, and was successfully crowned the Golden Boot and assist king. His contract with Inter Miami will end at the end of this year. It is reported that the two sides only need to finalize the contract details, and the club had intended to renew his contract for two years.