List of Top 5 highest-paid football players in the world for 2021
The football players at the highest levels earn a huge balance of money and as far as the very best in the business like Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar are concerned. Now we will show you the list of the top 5 highest paid footballers in the world in 2021.
The beautiful game is a multi-billion pound industry, with the best football players in the world raking in vast sums with every swipe of the ball.
Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar may be considered the best three players around, but is their talent reflected by financial success?
Top 5 highest-paid football players in the world for 2021
1. Lionel Messi (PSG) – £960,000 per week
The Argentian captain and PSG player earn £960,000 per week
Messi has now signed a deal worth £25m per year as a base salary after tax. That works out at approximately £50m per year before tax.
Once bonuses, signing-on fees and appearance fees are paid, Messi will be lifting a pay packet worth well above the million-a-week milestone, and that’s before external sponsorships.
An extra £25m is added to his pot from endorsements and sponsorships with the likes of Adidas and Pepsi.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) – £900,000 per week
Apparently being the most popular athlete on the planet isn’t enough to land you a place at the top of the rich list.
Cristiano Ronaldo may be the most followed sportsperson on Instagram but his annual earnings are marginally dwarfed by one footballer.
The Portuguese superstar tops up his near-million pound weekly wages with an annual figure of approximately £34m in other earnings from his own Ronaldo brand and sponsors such as Nike and Herbalife.
He became the top goalscorer in football history with a goal for Juventus against Napoli in the 2021 Italian Super Cup to take his total for club and country to 760 and has continued to find the net since.
3. Neymar (PSG) – £606,000 per week
The Brazilian's transfer from Barcelona to PSG is still the record transfer fee for any player in the world of football, and why not because he moved to another club in between his prime years.
Despite all the transfer speculations and reports that he is unhappy, Neymar has scored plenty of goals for his side and continues to do so. Hence, the dazzling Brazilian makes the cut at 3rd position in our list of the highest paid football players.
4. Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid) – £575,000 per week
Luis Suarez was controversially sold by Barcelona for a very low fee and made them pay dearly as he fired Atletico to the La Liga title at the first time of asking.
He scored 21 goals in 32 La Liga games to super charge Atletico’s surge for the title and has been worth every penny of his wage, unlike some of Barcelona’s big name stars.
This is likely to be Suarez’s last big pay day as the 34-year-old approaches the end of his career.
5. Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona) – £575,000 per week
Barcelona’s long-anticipated signing of Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid in 2019 is the fifth most-expensive transfer in history but the versatile forward has hardly set the Nou Camp alight.
The Catalan club need to get their finances in order, so Griezmann’s mega deal could put him in line for a move away before it expires.
