Paris Saint-Germain will offer a crazy contract extension for Kylian Mbappe. The French can earn up to 1.2 million euros a week, or more than 63 million euros annually.
This salary will make him the highest paid player in football history. Over the past 15 years, wages have exploded and records have fallen each season. A look back at the biggest football salaries of the year since 2010.
1. 2010 – Cristiano Ronaldo
The current salaries in football are fictitious. Eden Hazard, the 10th highest paid player in 2021, was earning almost twice as much as Cristiano Ronaldo in 2010. That year, the Portuguese was the highest paid player in the world.
CR7 received just over €1 million per month at Real Madrid in 2010, which totals €13 million per year in salary alone. The striker was ahead of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, at that time in Barcelona with 12 million a year. Lionel Messi came in third with a salary of 10.5 million euros.
2. 2011 – Cristiano Ronaldo
For the second consecutive season, Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest paid player in the world in 2011. Lionel Messi is still in third place but it is no longer Zlatan who separates the many gold balls. Wayne Rooney received a total of €11.5 million per year from Manchester United.
CR7 received a total of 12 million from Real Madrid. His colleague Kaka was eighth in this ranking with 9 million. The Portuguese allowed Real Madrid to win the King’s Cup in 2011 by scoring an extra-time goal in the final against Barcelona.
3. 2012 – Samuel Eto’o
By extending with a significant salary increase from Manchester United, Wayne Rooney believed he would become the world’s highest-paid player with a gross of €13.2 million per year. It was without relying on transmission stunned more than one.
Samuel Eto’o leaves Inter Milan and joins Angie Makhachkala in Russia. The Cameroonian becomes the highest-paid player in history. With the Russian club, he receives 20.5 million euros annually, which is 7 more than his runner-up Wayne Rooney.
4. 2013 – Samuel Eto’o
Samuel Eto’o stayed for two years in Anji Makhachkala. His astronomical salary at the time still allowed him to remain among the highest paid players in the world. He is ahead of the biggest football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
He leaves the Russian club to find his former coach at Inter Milan, Jose Mourinho. The Cameroonian joins Chelsea and will cut his salary drastically to play for the Premier League team, which would cause him to lose his first place in 2014.
5. 2014 – Lionel Messi
For the first time, Lionel Messi became the highest paid player in the world in 2014. The World Cup finalist in Brazil has an income of 41 million euros that year including salary, bonuses and advertisers income.
The Argentine is ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, who regained second place and shines in his wake, with a revenue of 39.5 million euros. Neymar arrived at FC Barcelona in 2013, joined the podium (29 million) and knocked out Wayne Rooney in the top three.
6. 2015 – Cristiano Ronaldo
Four years later, Cristiano Ronaldo regained the throne of the highest-paid player in the world. The Portuguese earned a total of €46.4 million including salary and bonuses in 2015. Lionel Messi returned him just behind CR7 with €43.8 million over the course of the year. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is third in the standings, far behind the football beast. In Paris Saint-Germain, the striker received about 26.35 million euros.
With advertising revenue, Cristiano Ronaldo increased to 71.79 million euros. 67.4 million for Lionel Messi who is still far ahead of Zlatan, and the third with 32.38 million euros he earned in 2015 taking into account salaries, bonuses and advertising contracts.
7. 2016 – Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo remains the highest paid player in 2016. The Euro winner in France is just under €50 million in total. Lionel Messi is still in second place with 47 million. Zlatan remains in third place with a salary of more than 26 million euros annually at Paris Saint-Germain.
By advertising revenue, Neymar is ahead of Zlatan in terms of money earned in 2016. Despite the estimated salary of 13 million euros, the Brazilian earned 33.1 million euros in total during the year compared to 33 million for Ibrahimovic. Ronaldo and Messi stay in another galaxy. In total, the Portuguese received 77.7 million euros. The Argentine’s income rose to 71.9 million.
8. 2017 – Cristiano Ronaldo
For the third year in a row, Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest paid player on the planet. For the first time in history, the player’s salary exceeds 50 million euros (including bonuses). The Portuguese made €52m in 2017. Lionel Messi is still second in the standings, €40m.
CR7 stands out from the Argentine since he won a total of €83m in 2017 compared to €71m for the former Barcelona. The two players remain far ahead of the others in the ranking of the highest paid players in the world.
9. 2018 – Lionel Messi
After being the highest-paid player in the world in the World Cup year in Brazil, Lionel Messi returned to the first place in this ranking in the World Cup in Russia in 2018. The Argentine extended his contract with FC Barcelona with his key. Great re-evaluation. He has 35 million euros net per season.
For the first time in history, the player’s annual income exceeds 100 million euros. La Pulga earned more than 126 million in 2018, an increase of 50 million over 2017. By signing with Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar climbed to third in the standings and cut the gap considerably with second-placed Cristiano Ronaldo. The Brazilian received nearly 50 million euros in salaries and bonuses that year.
10. 2019 – Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is still ahead in 2019, with the FC Barcelona striker earning a total salary of €52m over the course of the year. Big surprise, for the first time in many years, Cristiano Ronaldo did not occupy one of the first two places in the standings. He left Real Madrid for Juventus, and was overtaken by Neymar. The Portuguese received a total salary of 40.2 million euros in 2019, while the Paris Saint-Germain striker was 45.5 million.
11. 2020 – Lionel Messi
In 2020, salaries and ratings remained unchanged. For the third year in a row, Lionel Messi is the highest-paid player in the world. He is still ahead of his former Barcelona teammate, Neymar. Which means that for the second consecutive season, third-placed Cristiano Ronaldo is out of the top 2 he has occupied for years.
12. 2021 – Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo made a resounding comeback in 2021 and regained the throne he lost in 2018. By signing for Manchester United, the Portuguese has once again become the highest paid player in the world. With the English club, CR7 pockets €59 million in gross salary. Lionel Messi saw his salary drop at Paris Saint-Germain compared to what he earned at Barcelona. The Argentine made about 30 million euros in the capital.
For the year, Ronaldo earned a total of 106 million euros. Messi is back below the 100 million annual mark with 93 million. Neymar comes third in this ranking with 81 million euros in 2021. Kylian Mbappe is third, far behind the top three with “only” 36 million euros. But there is no doubt that she will be at the top of this ranking in a few years.
