Cristiano Ronaldo is set to be the highest-earning footballer in 2025, topping Forbes' list for the sixth time in the last 10 years. The 40-year-old superstar's income, before taxes, includes 230 million USD annually from his club Al Nassr, supplemented by approximately 50 million USD from bonuses and image rights.

Lionel Messi ranks second on the Forbes list, released on 28/12, with 130 million USD. The Argentine forward is the only player in the top 10 currently playing in the US, where the average player salary in 2025 is just 650,000 USD. Messi's income from Inter Miami is an exception, exceeding the entire payroll of 21 out of 30 teams in Major League Soccer (MLS). The second-highest earner in MLS is Toronto FC's forward Lorenzo Insigne, with 14.5 million USD.

Ronaldo significantly outpaces other players in football earnings for 2025. *Photo: Forbes*

Beyond Ronaldo and Messi, the Forbes Football Economics 2025 list features other prominent stars: Karim Benzema (104 million USD), Kylian Mbappe (95 million USD), Erling Haaland (80 million USD), and Vinicius Junior (60 million USD). These lucrative contracts reflect Saudi Arabia's substantial investment in elevating its national football profile and its bid to host the 2034 World Cup.

Salah (55 million USD), Bellingham (44 million USD), and Yamal (43 million USD) are among the next highest earners this year. However, their earnings remain far behind the two veterans, Ronaldo and Messi, who have departed top-tier European football.

In October, Bloomberg reported that Ronaldo was the first footballer to become a billionaire, with a net worth of 1.04 billion USD. In addition to his football salary and bonuses, Ronaldo commands a private business empire, including the CR7 brand, hotels, and perfumes, along with various endorsement deals and investments. He currently holds a 20% stake in Al Nassr club.

CR7 began his career in the 2002-2003 season with Sporting. He later played for Man Utd, Real, Juventus, and Al Nassr, accumulating five Champions League titles, three Premier League titles, two La Liga titles, two Serie A titles, and five Ballon d'Or awards. Ronaldo also led Portugal to victory in Euro 2016 and two Nations League titles, holding the record for 948 career goals.

Vy Anh