Barcelona star Lionel Messi has topped Forbes' list of the world's highest paid soccer players once again. Over the past calendar year, Messi has earned $126 million overall with $92 million coming from his salary and $34 million stemming from endorsement deals.
As was the case last year, Messi and Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo remain at the top of the list. Ronaldo came in at No. 2 with $117 million earned in the past year: $70 million from salary and $47 million in endorsements.
Neymar Jr. came in at three, but the biggest surprise was Paris-Saint Germain star Kylian Mbappe coming in at No. 4 on the list. Mbappe earned $42 million this past year and has transformed into one of the biggest young stars in the sport. He has scored 103 goals in his five-year professional career. Mbappe, 21, has 12 more career goals than Messi did at age 21 and 76 more than Ronaldo had at that age.
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah rounds out the top five with $37 million worth of earnings this past year.
Here's a complete look at the top 10 players on Forbes' list:
- Lionel Messi ($126 million)
- Cristiano Ronaldo ($117 million)
- Neymar Jr. ($96 million)
- Kylian Mbappe ($42 million)
- Mohamed Salah ($37 million)
- Paul Pogba ($32 million)
- Antoine Griezmann ($33 million)
- Gareth Bale ($29 million)
- Robert Lewandowski ($28 million)
- David De Gea ($27 million)
