Money gone mad? Lionel Messi has been named as the best paid footballer on the planet, earning over €3million per-month more than second place Cristiano Ronaldo.
French publication L'Equipe have released their annual list of the world's highest paid players, with the Argentine superstar dwarfing his Portuguese counterpart's earnings by some margin. The list only takes into account a player's salary earned from the club, with all figures mentioned being before tax is deducted. In all, four European leagues are represented.
Messi earns a staggering €8.3m per-month, with Ronaldo earning a cool €4.7m since his move to Juventus. He is followed by Antoine Griezmann, with the Frenchman earning €3.3m per-month. Clearly, La Liga is the place to be, with players from Spain's top division making up half of the top 10.
Despite being the world's most expensive player, Neymar has to settle for just over €3m per-month in the French capital.
With the riches present in the Premier League it is perhaps surprising that only two players from the English top flight present in the top 10. Alexis Sanchez sits in sixth place, while Mesut Ozil rounds out the top 10. It is perhaps telling that the two highest paid players in the division have become bit part players at their clubs.
The figures involved in this list make for incredible reading, and that is before you consider the other sources of income available to these players. The list does not account for things such as endorsement deals, which rake in quite a bit of cash in their own right.
The 10 highest paid players in world football (salaries per-month):
- Lionel Messi - €8.3m
- Cristiano Ronaldo - €4.7m
- Antoine Griezmann - €3.3m
- Neymar - €3.03m
- Luis Suarez - €2.9m
- Gareth Bale - €2.5m
- Philippe Coutinho - €2.3m
- Alexis Sanchez - €2.28m
- Kylian Mbappe - €1.73
- Mesut Ozil - €1.6m
