10 Richest Footballers Ranked by Net Worth

A common question that is asked is whether footballers get paid too much money. The beautiful game has always been a money-spinning machine and as the years go by, the money that clubs are able to offer their very-best players is arguably getting out of hand. But that notion doesn’t stop the biggest and best names from earning top dollar.

It’s not even just from a wages perspective; footballers, most notably those with a global presence across all facets of life – are more likely to earn money through other avenues too. That includes, but is not exclusive to, endorsements and sponsorship deals with some of the world’s biggest companies.

Football unites like-minded people more than any sport in the world and the finances involved are often mind-bending – but which footballers, judging by their net worth, are the richest? According to The Sun, Riyad Mahrez and Erling Haaland are unfortunate to miss out, but the top ten richest players, all of whom are currently still playing, have been named.

10

Robert Lewandowski – £63m

If you ask the average football fan to name the best strikers of the current generation, you can bet your bottom dollar that Robert Lewandowski’s name would come up in conversation. The Pole has netted an abundance of strikes for any club, Bundesliga duo Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund included, that have been blessed to possess his goalscoring services – and the cash has inevitably followed.

Now, at 37 years of age, he is leading the line for Hansi Flick’s Barcelona. His clinical nature in the final third, combined with his clever movement, makes him among the club’s highest-earners, but him lining his pockets with cash is not a revelation to the serial goal-getter. He’s been one of football’s best-paid players for years now.

9

Mohamed Salah – £66m

Mohamed Salah has mastered the art of goalscoring in what is considered the toughest league in world football: the Premier League. The Egyptian, who joined Liverpool from AS Roma in the summer of 2017, has scored goals at an alarming rate since moving to England – and his incredible wealth is a combination of off-field endorsements and his eye-catching salary.

As things stand, Salah is earning around the £400,000 mark on a weekly basis and that, naturally, makes him one of the highest-earning players on the planet. The combination of the facts that England’s top flight is among the richest in world football and Salah is one of the division’s posterboys is a match made in heaven and his net worth sits at £66 million.

8

Antoine Griezmann – £67m

Atletico Madrid, as a club, have always struggled to stand out from the crowd given any success is often shadowed over by Spain’s two leading clubs: rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona – but Los Colchonero’s Antoine Griezmann has somewhat cracked the code. At the time of writing, his net worth stands at a whopping £67 million.

Griezmann, a one-time World Cup winner, was unsuccessful in his short stint at Barcelona but his return to being under Diego Simeone’s wing in the Spanish capital has restored his status as one of the best around. With that comes the additional endorsement deals and brands falling over themselves to secure collaborations with the popular Frenchman.

7

Son Heung-min – £75m

A true hero among Tottenham Hotspur circles, Son Heung-min moved onto pastures new in the summer of 2025 as he became the MLS’ most expensive player of all time. Linking up with ex-teammate Hugo Lloris at Los Angeles FC, Son’s influence transcends the football pitch and into a huge market for football – and that’s the continent of Asia.

A ridiculously popular figure in Asia, the winger – like many on this list – is more than just a footballer, he is also looking to increase his brand at every given opportunity. He’s been sponsored by Adidas since the infancy of his superstardom in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen and that only grew to otherworldly levels when he moved to England in the summer of 2015. His in-front-of-goal prowess has always seen him paid well too.

6

Paul Pogba – £93m

World-renowned footballer Paul Pogba may have struggled to light up Old Trafford but there was a time, when he was controlling Juventus’ midfield with ease, when we was recognised as one of the finest central midfielders on offer. Not only was he outrageously talented, but he was very marketable – and that can be reflected in his net worth of £93 million.

That is also despite missing 18 months of football after serving a ban, which was originally set to be four years. Returning to his homeland to play for Monaco could be one of the wisest decisions the classy engine room operator has made in years – and if he hits the ground running, there’s every chance he could start to rise further up this list.

5

Karim Benzema – £150m

Entering the top five richest footballers, and we’re starting with Karim Benzema, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers in football history. The Frenchman – largely by virtue of his lucrative, long-term deals and hefty pay packets – is currently the fifth-richest footballer with a net worth of £150 million. That’s only poised to grow and grow given that he is mopping up the riches of Saudi Arabia.

Benzema, upon ending the European stint of his footballing career in 2023, moved to Al-Ittihad and has not looked back since. Since breaking through as a youngster at Olympique Lyonnais, he was always destined to score an obscene number of goals and line his pockets with plenty of cash. Relatively simply, he’s managed to do both for years.

4

Kylian Mbappe – £186m

Another handsomely paid footballer is Kylian Mbappe – but you’ve got to admit that it’s for good reason too. The Paris Saint-Germain academy graduate, thanks to his talismanic status, is always bound to be paid big bucks for whichever club he plays for, which has been Real Madrid since the summer of 2024, but that’s not where the money stops flowing.

Seen as the heir to Cristiano Ronaldo’s throne at Los Blancos, Paris-born Mbappe signed a significant sponsorship deal with Nike in 2017 and his stratospheric rise has only amounted to more money entering his pocket. From a wages perspective, PSG’s all-time top goalscorer has put together a compelling case to be worth his lofty take-home.

3

Neymar Jr – £280m

Neymar Jr is one of those players that fans pay to watch. An entertainer of the highest order, the 33-year-old is now back in his homeland plying his trade for Santos – but it’s impossible to not look back at his stint at Barcelona without reminiscing. Alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, he was part of one of the best attacks in football history.

Glitz and glamour aside, Neymar has earned plenty of cash from lighting up stadiums around the world. His current net worth sits at £280 million – and that’s accumulated through a series of various avenues: a £23 million-per-year deal with Puma, his sponsorship deal with Red Bull and his ambassadorial role for REPLY jeans.

2

Lionel Messi – £620m

Now enjoying the swansong of his career scoring goals for fun in Major League Soccer (MLS) for Inter Miami, it makes sense that football’s greatest of all time, perennial record-breaker Lionel Messi, nears the top of this list. The one-time World Cup winner boasts a net worth of £620 million, though that is still not enough to take the cake.

Ever since replacing Deco and making his debut as a 17-year-old in Barcelona’s 1-0 over Espanyol in 2004, Messi has captivated audiences around the world – and his bank account has been lined with cash as a result. Alongside his mouth-watering salaries, both past and present, is his earnings from endorsements over the years.

1

Cristiano Ronaldo – £1.045bn

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most famous figures on the planet – and, therefore, it should be no surprise that the global icon, 40, is the richest footballer in the world. His recent two-year extension with Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr has seen him become the first of his kind to reach a net worth north of £1 billion.

His footballing income aside, Ronaldo – born and raised in Madeira – has plenty of other avenues for revenue: he has deals with Clear Shampoo, DAZN, LiveScore and Panini, while his global CR7 brand includes selling apparel and underwear. Breaking records has always been the Portuguese talisman’s forte; and he’s only poised to become richer and richer; that’ll continue even when he hangs up his boots.