For the second year in a row Cristiano Ronaldo ranks No. 1 on the list of the world’s highest-paid soccer players. The 30-year-old star of Real Madrid, the most valuable soccer team in the world worth $3.26 billion, banked $79 million last year in salary, bonus and endorsements – a sum that also makes him the highest-paid team athlete in the world.
It’s an astronomical reward for capturing his second straight and third overall FIFA player of the year trophy and becoming the most popular athlete in the world, if you go by social media. His 102 million Facebook fans and 35 million Twitter Twitter followers eclipse all other athletes. A commercial powerhouse, the Portuguese winger impresses in his long-term sponsor Nike’s boots on the pitch, and his signature CR7 line of underwear, shirts and shoes off it. Both helped contribute to the $27 million he earned in endorsements.
Lionel Messi, a record four-time winner of FIFA’s player of the year award, earned $70.5 million last year to come in second on our list. The benefit of an ongoing rivalry with Ronaldo paid off well for him. After Real Madrid made Ronaldo the highest paid in Spain’s La Liga in 2013, a slow rumble of discontent from Messi over bonuses grew to reports of him wanting to leave Camp Nou, the club that groomed him since youth. Barca responded last May by giving their star his 7th contract since 2005 that rewards him with a $9 million a year raise and added performance incentives to match his nemesis’ salary through 2018.
If one of those incentives is most hat tricks scored, Messi cashed in on that. He’s done it 32 times, a Spanish club record. The 27-year-old Argentine can add that to a host of records including most goals in Barca competitions, most goals in La Liga competitions, and most goals scored in a calendar year.
His superhuman talent is why sponsor Samsung cast him as superhero Iron Man in an advertisement for the Avengers film. It’s also why his main sponsor Adidas launched a Messi icon line of shoes and apparel in 2013. The articles, designed in collaboration with him, have exceeded company expectations, including in the US, an Adidas spokesperson said. In return, Messi took home an estimated $10 million from the sportswear manufacture last year.
As with their performance on the pitch, Ronaldo and Messi are on a pay scale all their own. The next highest paid, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, made $41.8 million last year. His sponsorship with Nike has lapsed and his playing career with Paris Saint-Germain has one more season. If his application for a long-term US Visa last month is any indication, he may be Major League Soccer-bound. Based on the $7.1 million salary of Orlando City SC’s Kaka, a former FIFA player of the year and now MLS’ highest paid player, Ibrahimovic could expect his gross salary in the US to be half his after-tax pay in the French capital, further distancing himself from the top of the sport’s best paid. Forbes
