Messi Continues To Be The Highest-Paid Soccer Player In The World

Lionel Messi, the star of the Barcelona and Argentina soccer teams, for the third consecutive year is the best-paid football player in the world.

According to France Football Magaizne, Messi makes 74 million euros ($84.4 million) per year, up from 65 million euros or $74.1 million last year. This positions him well ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal), who saw his earnings surge by 13.4 million euros ($15.3 million) to 67.4 million euros ($76.9 million), and his Barcelona teammate, Neymar, who makes 43.5 million euros per year ($49.6 million). All three players maintained the same spot in this list as they did last year, and the one before.

It should be noted that these figures only consider the players’ pre-tax salaries, but does not take into account diverse bonuses and sponsorship revenues.

Angel Di Maria (Argentina, Paris Saint-Germain) was the top-earning player in France. After leaving Manchester United PLC (NYSE: MANU), Di Maria got a 24 million euros ($27.4 million) contract with Paris Saint-Germain, the best paying club in France, the source said.

Football Leaks revealed a document that claims to be Neymar’s contract. According to this data, the Brazilian baller makes a basic salary of 5 million euros ($5.7 million) per year.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.