Table of Contents
The World’s Top 20 Richest Soccer Players
Soccer, sometimes known as football, is by far the most popular sport in the world. Furthermore, soccer is followed by nearly 3.5 billion people globally. Soccer has become a rich business in recent years as a result of its popularity among supporters.
Football players’ pay has skyrocketed, and they are now earning exorbitant sums.
Similarly, numerous corporations are sponsoring players as part of marketing efforts.
Soccer players have recently risen to the top of Forbes’ annual list of the world’s highest-paid athletes.
Can you guess who made our list of the World’s Richest Soccer Players? Did your fave make the cut?
The World’s 20 Wealthiest Soccer Players
This article’s data was gathered from websites such as Forbes, Celebrity Net Worth, and Sporty Tell.
Similarly, their fortune is not solely derived from their soccer earnings. The list includes both active and retired soccer players.
20. Salah Mohamed
Egyptian King Mohamed Salah is ranked 20th on the list of the world’s richest soccer players.
He now plays for Liverpool, having joined the club in 2017.
He plays as a winger and has excellent speed, movement, and dribbling to get past opponents and score or create chances.
Salah celebrates after scoring against Manchester City in the Champions League.
Salah celebrates after scoring against Manchester City in the UCL.
Mohamed Salah’s net worth is now estimated to be $90 million.
Similarly, he is currently Liverpool’s highest-paid player, earning $35.1 million per year.
19. Mbappe, Kylian
Kylian Mbappe, the 2018 World Cup victor, also joins the list of the world’s richest players.
Not bad for a 22-year-old professional footballer with a lengthy career ahead of him.
Mbappe is widely regarded as the world’s best young player, with a transfer market value of €160 million.
Mbappe is not only smashing records, but he is also generating a lot of money in the football world.
Mbappe licks the World Cup trophy
Kylian Mbappe, the PSG winger, has a net worth of $95 million.
Furthermore, Nike released his signature shoe in 2018 when Mbappe was only 18 years old.
18. Blanco, Raul Gonzalez
Raul, a Real Madrid legend, is the current manager of Real Madrid Castilla.
Furthermore, he holds the Blancos appearance record with 741 caps.
Furthermore, he spent the majority of his career in Madrid, where he won three champions and six Laligas.
Later in his career, he played for Schalke, Al Sadd, and the New York Cosmos.
Raul Gonzalez tries to dribble past the defenders of Atletico Madrid.
Raul is also Real Madrid’s and Spain’s second-highest scoring player.
Spanish currently has a net worth of $100 million, ranking him 18th on our list of the “Richest Soccer Players in the World.”
17. Lahm, Philipp
Philip Lahm is a retired soccer player who led Bayern Munich to a triple in 2013 and Germany to a World Cup victory in 2014.
Lahm, who is recognized as one of the best defenders in football history, played professionally from 2003 to 2017.
Surprisingly, he finished his career without incurring a red card.
Lahm earned the nickname Magic Dwarf due to his diminutive stature but exceptional qualities such as pace, stamina, tackling, and technique.
Former German and Bayern Munich captain Lahm’s net worth is reported to be $100 million.
16. Eden Danger
Eden Hazard of Belgium is next on the list. He currently plays for Real Madrid, but his form has not been as good as it was in England due to regular injuries.
Hazard is an unpredictable player, and his playing style has drawn comparisons to Messi and Ronaldo.
Hazard, the 2014 PFA Player of the Year, has won league titles in France, England, and Spain.
Eden Hazard poses for a photo with fans during his Real Madrid debut.
The Real Madrid winger has a net worth of $100 million.
Furthermore, he is the club’s highest-paid player, earning £400,000 every week.
15. Pele
Pele is a legendary figure in sports, not just football.
During his playing career, he was frequently referred to as “the greatest.”
He won his first World Cup at the age of 17, breaking the record for the youngest footballer to do so.
He went on to win three World Championships.
Pele, the IFFHS World Football Player of the Century, has an estimated net worth of $115 million.
Furthermore, he was the one who coined the phrase “The Beautiful Game.”
14. Zidane, Zinedine
Zidane Zidane has had an amazing career as both a manager and a player.
He recently resigned down as Los Blancos manager at the end of the 2020-21 season.
He has, however, already left his mark as a manager and player.
Zidane has been named World Footballer of the Year three times and won the World Cup in 1998.
Zidane celebrates the UCL victory with his family.
Zidane and his family celebrate UCL’s victory.
Similarly, as manager of Real Madrid, he led the club to three successive Champions League titles.
The net worth of French great Zidane Zidane is estimated to be approximately $120 million.
13. Ozil, Mesut
Mesut Ozil, a German playmaker, now plays for Fenerbahce.
Previously, he played for prominent European clubs such as Real Madrid and Arsenal.
He is well-known for making goal-scoring passes that others miss.
That is the origin of his moniker, The Assist King.
His most triumphant moment occurred in 2014 when he won the World Cup in Brazil.
Mesut Ozil’s net worth is believed to be $120 million.
Similarly, he only gets $24 million per year from his Adidas contract.
12. Iniesta, Andres
Andreas Iniesta’s brilliance in world football is indisputable, despite the fact that he is presently playing for the Japanese team, Vissel Kobe.
Iniesta climbed through the ranks of the world-famous La Masia football academy.
Later, he spent 22 years with Barcelona, where he won 35 titles, including two trebles.
Similarly, he is a national hero, having scored the game-winning goal in the 2010 World Cup finals, propelling Spain to its first-ever World Cup victory.
Andreas Iniesta ranks 12th on our list of the “Richest Soccer Players in the World,” with a net worth of $120 million.
11. Pogba, Paul
Paul Pogba is the next richest soccer player on the list. In 2016, he joined Manchester United for a Premier League record cost of $120 million.
After scoring the game-winning goal against AC Milan, Paul Pogba celebrates.
The 2018 World Cup winner is frequently used as a deep-lying playmaker.
Despite continuous criticism from the media, he has continued to play admirably on the field.
Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney’s net worth is believed to be $125 million.
10. Henry, Thierry
In the 2000s, Henry was always in the news. He was a dominant player for Arsenal, earning two league titles and four golden boots.
After joining Barcelona, Henry helped the club win the treble in 2008/09.
Similarly, he won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship for France.
The Guardian-Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry plays for the Montreal Impact.
Henry is still involved in soccer after retiring.
The player is currently the Belgium national team’s assistant manager.
Thierry Henry’s net worth is now estimated to be $130 million.
9. Bale, Gareth
Gareth Bale of Wales is the ninth richest soccer player in the world, with a net worth of $145 million.
Gareth Bale, the six-time Welsh Footballer of the Year, is currently on loan at Tottenham Hotspur from Real Madrid.
Gareth Bale during Tottenham’s unveiling
Gareth Bale, alongside Benzema and Ronaldo, established the world’s most lethal football three, dubbed BBC. Later, tri helped Real win three UCL titles in a row.
However, it was at Tottenham that he gained prominence during his first stay at The Lilywhites.
In addition, Bale is the highest-paid player in the Premier League, with Los Blancos paying a share of his salary.
8. Ronaldo
Ronaldo “The Phenomenon” is a retired soccer player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history.
Despite the fact that Ronaldo’s career was hampered by injuries, he made his impact in the football world.
He was labeled “the consummate striker,” and he was described as a nightmare for any team’s defenders and goalkeepers.
Ronaldo is a two-time FIFA World Cup champion who has scored 15 goals in four competitions.
Similarly, in 2020, he was named to France Football’s Greatest All-Time XI Team.
He currently owns Real Valladolid after obtaining 51% of the club’s shares in 2018.
Ronaldo’s net worth is estimated to be $160 million.
7. Rooney, Wayne
Wayne Rooney, the top scorer for Manchester United and England, is ranked seventh on the list of the richest soccer players.
Rooney spent over 14 years with the Red Devils, winning 16 titles with them.
Rooney is the manager of Derby County in the English Premier League.
He is reported to be worth $170 million.
6. Ibrahimovic, Zlatan
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, despite being labeled arrogant, petulant, and uneducated, is one of the best strikers of our generation.
Zlatan has won 32 titles while playing for nine different teams.
Despite being 39 years old, he continues to play for AC Milan.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a La Galaxy player.
Furthermore, Zlatan is Sweden’s leading scorer.
He has also scored 564 goals in his playing career.
Swedish is reported to have a net worth of $190 million.
It’s no surprise that he ranked sixth on our list of the World’s Richest Soccer Players.
5. Neymar
Since making his professional debut for FC Santos in 2009, Neymar has been regarded as one of the top players in the world.
After joining Barcelona, he established the most lethal MSN trio with Suarez and Messi.
Later, in 2015, they won a historic treble.
In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Neymar guided Brazil to its first-ever Olympic gold medal.
Later that year, Neymar smashed the global record transfer fee of €222 million when he joined Ligue 1 club PSG.
Wiki and Net Worth of Neymar
Neymar celebrates his goal against Galatasaray.
His net worth grew quickly over the years as a result of his PSG deal and various sponsors.
He is currently the sixth highest-paid athlete in the world, earning $95.5 million in the 2020/21 season.
Furthermore, Brazilian superstar Neymar’s net worth is reported to be $200 million.
4. Whelan, David
David Whelan is the world’s fourth highest-paid soccer player, according to Forbes.
From 1956 to 1966, Whelan was a professional footballer for Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra.
However, after quitting sports, he gained a fortune through commercial enterprises.
He also owned Wigan Athletic, a soccer team.
David Wheelan, a retired English footballer, is projected to have a net worth of $210 million.
3. Messi, Lionel
Lionel Messi, one of the greatest football players of all time, is ranked third in our list of the “Richest Soccer Players in the World.”
The Argentine has spent his whole career with Barcelona and is captain of both club and country.
On the field, Messi is simply unstoppable.
He can easily score or create chances for a squad.
Messi poses with his six Ballon D’Or trophies.
Messi has six Ballon d’Or awards and six European golden boots.
Similarly, he has won a club-record 34 trophies but has yet to win an international trophy.
Messi also has the most goals in a single season (92), as well as the most goals in La Liga (474).
He is also Argentina’s all-time leading scorer.
According to Forbes, Messi will be the highest-paid footballer in 2021, earning $130 million.
2. Beckham, David
David Beckham is one of the world’s most inspirational athletes. Beckham played professionally for 20 years.
Beckham is well-known for his free kicks, crossing, and passing abilities.
He spent 11 years with Manchester United during his career.
He won six EPL titles, two FA Cups, and the 1999 UCL while there.
He later played for Real Madrid, AC Milan, La Galaxy, and PSG.
He represented England in three World Cups.
He currently owns Inter Miami Fc and Salford City.
In addition, he has an academy in both London and Los Angeles.
Similarly, David Beckham’s estimated net worth is $450 million, making him the richest retired player.
1. Ronaldo, Cristiano
Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s richest soccer player.
He is one of the leading contenders for the title of goat.
It’s no surprise that Ronaldo is ranked top, given he is the first and only soccer player to earn a billion dollars.
He currently plays for the Seria A giants Juventus.
Similarly, Ronaldo formerly played for big European clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Sporting Lisbon.
Ronaldo celebrates with his family after being named Globe Player of the Century.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with his family after being named Globe Player of the Century.
Ronaldo has won every triumph he deserved, from three consecutive UCL titles with Los Blancos to the Euro Cup with Portugal.
In terms of personal achievements, he has five Ballon d’Ors and four European Golden Boots.
He has 770 goals in 1,110 professional games, and he is only the second player in history to have 100 international goals.
Similarly, Ronaldo leads UCL in goals and assists.
Similarly, Cristiano Ronaldo has the largest social media viewership, with over 400 million followers.
Cristino Ronaldo, the richest soccer player, is projected to have a net worth of $500 million.
Also, read Candace Parker’s Husband, Mike Bibby, Top 12 Best MLB Outfielders in the World