A year after Saudi Pro League clubs splashed out around $1 billion on transfers — an unprecedented spending spree for a nation barely considered a footballing power — the market has cooled considerably. With oil prices languishing and the country mired in a long list of megaprojects that have left its $925 billion sovereign wealth fund strapped for cash, the Saudis spent just $524 million on football acquisitions this summer, according to Transfermarkt. And the players who have arrived — Moussa Diaby, Ivan Toney and Marcos Leonardo among them — are hardly household names.
But the superstars who paved the way for the Middle East are still receiving cheques from the Saudis. Four Saudi Pro League players now rank among the world’s 10 highest-paid footballers, taking into account both their on-field wages this season and their annual earnings from endorsements, souvenirs and other business ventures. England’s star-studded Premier League occupies just three spots, while Spain’s La Liga is down to two and Lionel Messi gives Major League Soccer in the US its only representative.
Messi sits in second place with an estimated $135 million in earnings before tax and agent fees – including a sport-best $75 million off the field – but for the second year running he falls behind rival Cristiano Ronaldo , who opened the Saudi floodgates by signing for Al Nassr in January 2023.
The Portuguese superstar, who tops the list for the sixth time in the past decade, is set to earn $220 million on the field this season, a sum believed to include financial incentives from commercial deals facilitated by his club in addition to his playing salary. His total of $285 million — including about $65 million off the field — is a record in soccer, surpassing the $260 million he earned on the 2023 list . And among all athletes tracked by Forbes since 1990, only boxer Floyd Mayweather has surpassed that figure in a single year while still active in his sport.
Yet the Saudis’ low-key 2024 has had ripple effects across the footballing world, in part because of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play Regulations, which link the amount a team can spend to the money it brings in. “In 2023, there was the Saudi Pro League, which contributed to the Premier League in two ways: it paid transfer fees and it took players off the payroll who were very expensive,” explains Kieran Maguire , a professor of football finance at the University of Liverpool. “Because Saudi Arabia doesn’t spend money, the Premier League gets cold feet when it receives it.”
In fact, Premier League transfer spending fell to $2.5 billion this summer, down from a record $3 billion last year, with Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1 also seeing significant year-on-year declines. Real Madrid signing Kylian Mbappé (No. 5, $90 million) is the only one of the top 10 earners to have changed clubs this season, and a lack of major moves has limited the financial growth of the rest of the top earners. Collectively, the world’s 10 highest-paid footballers are projected to earn $983 million this season, a record for the list but a modest 2% increase on last year.
A pair of new deals on the horizon, however, could change that math. Erling Haaland , No. 6 at $60 million and scorer of 101 goals in 108 games since joining Manchester City in 2022, is in the third season of a five-year contract and has already attracted interest from other top European clubs. An extension seems likely, although the future is less certain for teammate Kevin De Bruyne (No. 10, $39 million), whose contract expires at the end of this season.
Uncertainty extends to Mohamed Salah , who could see his eight-year spell at Liverpool come to an end next summer. The eighth-highest-paid player in football this season, on an estimated $53m, has yet to extend his contract at Anfield, telling Sky Sports that this was “his last year at the club”.
Saudi Arabia could be an option, given that Al Ittihad have reportedly made a $197 million transfer offer for the Egyptian star in 2023. “I just want to enjoy it,” Salah told reporters in September. “I don’t want to think about it – I feel like I’m free to play football, and we’ll see what happens next year.”
These are the highest paid players of 2024 :
1. Cristiano Ronaldo , $285 million
Age: 39 | Club: Al Nassr | Nationality: Portugal | On-field earnings: $220 million • Off-field earnings: $65 million
With more than 900 million followers across social media platforms Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), Ronaldo is the most popular athlete on the planet, and his online presence has grown even further with the launch of a YouTube channel in August. It took him just 90 minutes to reach one million subscribers, breaking the platform’s record. Since then, “UR Cristiano” has grown his audience to almost 65 million and racked up more than 544 million views across just 59 videos. Ronaldo’s long-standing partnerships include Nike, Herbalife and Whoop – in which he has a stake – not to mention CR hotels, fragrances and underwear. All of these ventures will no doubt keep the 39-year-old busy when he decides to hang up his boots; Ronaldo’s contract with Saudi Arabian professional league side Al Nassr expires this season.
2. Lionel Messi, $135 million
Age: 37 | Club: Inter Miami | Nationality: Argentina | On-field earnings: $60 million | Off-field earnings: $75 million
Just months after leading Argentina to its 16th Copa America title — and the second of his career — Messi has put Inter Miami in position to capture its first championship. The South Florida-based franchise has amassed an MLS-best 71 points with one regular-season game remaining, putting it in pole position to take home the MLS Cup when the playoffs begin on Oct. 23. Win or lose, Messi likely won’t be the last in Miami. He’s under contract through 2025 with an option for 2026, and Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas told Forbes in April that he’s “fully confident” in his star striker’s return. Meanwhile, Messi boasts an impressive portfolio of off-field partnerships — including Adidas, Apple TV and Konami — and an Instagram account with more than 500 million followers. Last month she also launched her own production company called 525 Rosario, named after her hometown in Argentina and the address of her family home.
3. Neymar, 110 million dollars
Age: 32 | Club: Al Hilal | Nationality: Brazil | On the field: $80 million • Off the field: $30 million
Neymar’s time in Saudi Arabia has not gone as planned. The Brazilian star made just five appearances for Al Hilal before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last October. He has since returned to training with the club, but the 32-year-old now has to decide whether to stay in the Middle East. His contract with Al Hilal – which reportedly includes perks such as access to a private jet, a fleet of luxury cars, a mansion for staff and the right to live with his girlfriend, which would otherwise be restricted by Islamic law – expires at the end of the 2024-25 season. Neymar’s future, by contrast, appears much more secure. He often promotes his sponsors to his 225 million Instagram followers , which include both long-time partners Puma and Blaze Casino and a new addition, Saudi perfumer Ibrahim Al-Qurashi .
4. Karim Benzema, $104 million
Age: 36 | Club: Al Ittihad | Nationality: France | On the pitch: $100 million • Off the pitch: $4 million
Injuries limited Benzema to 21 appearances for Al Ittihad in his first season in Saudi Arabia, with the former Ballon d’Or winner scoring just nine goals — his lowest tally since 2009-10. However, the 36-year-old striker has returned to fitness and rediscovered his goal-scoring touch, with seven goals in six games this season, in which his side have won five. Although Al Ittihad finished fifth in the Saudi Pro League last season, Benzema has high hopes for 2024-25, especially after the club brought in French coach Laurent Blanc . «He’s someone, as I said, who knows football, someone who is very close to his players, someone you can exchange ideas with,» Benzema told Eurosport. «So that’s good for us, and good for me as well.»
4. Kylian Mbappé, $90 million
Age: 25 | Club: Real Madrid | Nationality: France | On the pitch: $70 million • Off the pitch: $20 million
After years of rumours, Mbappe has finally realised his childhood dream of joining Real Madrid . “I want to enjoy every second of this with my family because, for me, it’s a day I will remember for the rest of my life,” he said at his presentation press conference in July, with nearly 80,000 fans on hand at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium to greet him. But the 25-year-old French star remains at odds with his former club Paris Saint-Germain over some $60m in unpaid wages, in a pay dispute that is heading to court. His departure has been felt across French football. Ligue 1 , the top flight of domestic football, has fallen far short of the $1.1bn a year it was aiming to earn from broadcasting rights by renegotiating its deals, and will instead rake in just over $700m in domestic and international rights, according to French publication Le Monde .
6. Erling Haaland, $60 million
Age: 24 | Club: Manchester City | Nationality: Norway | On the pitch: $46 million • Off the pitch: $14 million
Haaland has racked up some major trophies in his two years at Manchester City , with two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a Champions League title. International competition has been a different story. Norway has not qualified for the World Cup since 1998 or the European Championship since 2000. This week, the country was thrashed by Austria (5-1) in a UEFA Nations League match.
7. Vinicius Jr., $55 million
Age: 24 | Club: Real Madrid | Nationality: Brazil | On-field earnings: $40 million | Off-field earnings: $15 million
Vinicius, the only newcomer on this year’s money list, has been at Real Madrid since he was 18 , and in that time has become an electric goalscorer, with 85 goals in 273 games in all competitions for the club. He has also become a highly marketable figure, immensely popular in Latin America. The Brazilian has 11 brand deals – including Sony’s PlayStation , Pepsi and Clear shampoo – to complement the contract he quietly signed in 2022 that ties him to Los Blancos until 2027.
8. Mohamed Salah, $53 million
Age: 32 | Club: Liverpool | Nationality: Egypt | On-field earnings: $35m | Off-field earnings: $18m
Salah’s star power stretches from the Premier League to North Africa and the Middle East, making him a hot commodity for brands operating in the region. He has worked with Vodafone, Mountain View Egypt, Pepsi and Adidas , to name a few, and boasts an audience of nearly 100 million followers across Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
9. Sadio Mané, 52 million
Age: 32 | Club: Al Nassr | Nationality: Senegal | On the pitch: $48 million • Off the pitch: $4 million
For years, Mané has used his multimillion-dollar salary to effect change in his native Senegal . In 2019, he revealed that he donates €70 a month to every resident of a “very poor region in Senegal.” The 32-year-old has also funded a number of infrastructure projects, including the construction of a gas station and a post office , as well as the implementation of 4G mobile coverage.
10. Kevin de Bruyne, $39 million
Age: 33 | Club: Manchester City | Nationality: Belgium | On the pitch: $35 million • Off the pitch: $4 million
De Bruyne has reportedly turned down a lucrative offer to play in Saudi Arabia rather than uproot his family from Manchester . But the Kingdom could come knocking again: Cristiano Ronaldo is rumoured to be campaigning to bring the Belgian star to Al Nassr . Off the pitch, De Bruyne is involved with half a dozen brands, including Nike and McDonald’s .
METHODOLOGY
Forbes’ ranking of the world’s highest-paid soccer players includes estimates of on-field earnings for the 2024-25 season, including base salaries, bonuses and, in some cases, image rights deals with clubs. (For Lionel Messi, who plays in the year-round MLS schedule, the earnings figure reflects his 2024 compensation.)
Off-field estimates reflect annual cash from sponsorships, licensing, appearances and memorabilia, as well as businesses operated by players. In the case of certain players, such as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, club or league sponsors are believed to subsidise their contracts, and that value is factored into on-field estimates.
The figures are derived from publicly available databases, including Capology.com, and from conversations with industry insiders. Most asked to remain anonymous, but Forbes would like to thank football correspondent Tancredi Palmeri, Mariano Trasande of DODICI Sports Management and Shea Richard Soma of Xeric Sports Management.
All figures are converted to U.S. dollars using the current exchange rate. Forbes does not include investment income, such as interest or dividend payments, but does take into account payments from equity stakes athletes have sold. Forbes does not deduct taxes or agent fees. Transfer charges are excluded.
