Washington: PSG star forward Kylian Mbappe has overtaken Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to top the Forbes list for highest-earning footballers.
This is the first time in nine years that any other footballer has leapfrogged over the iconic duo.
The last player to top the list other than Ronaldo or Messi was former England captain David Beckham in 2013. Mbappe will earn USD 128 million this season.
Meanwhile, Messi in second place, will earn USD 120 million and in third place, Ronaldo will earn USD 100 million.
The French superstar will earn around USD 110 million as salary and signing bonus for the new season, according to industry experts. This is in addition to the estimated USD 18 million that Mbappe earns through brand endorsements such as Nike, Dior, Hublot, Oakley and Panini. Mbappe also recently appeared on the cover of EA Sports’ FIFA 23 video game. He’s also founded his own production company, Zebra Valley, while joining fantasy NFT platform Sorare as both an ambassador and an investor.
PSG forward Neymar of Brazil ranked fourth on the list with USD 87 million, followed in order by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah on USD 53 million, Manchester City new signing Erling Haaland on USD 39 million, Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski at USD 35 million, Real Madrid’s Eden Hazard at USD 31 million, Vissel Kobe’s Andres Iniesta at USD 30 million and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne at USD 29 million.
