Paris Saint-Germain’s French striker Kylian Mbappe topped Forbes magazine’s money list for world soccer players with $128 million – Copyright AFP Michal Cizek
French superstar striker Kylian Mbappe will earn a record $128 million in annual earnings to top the list of the world’s highest-paid soccer players, according to a report by Forbes magazine on Friday.
The magazine noted that Mbappé crossed the $100 million mark at age 23, while legends such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were 30 years old and at the peak of their careers when they first crossed that money mark.
Mbappé signed a three-year contract extension in May to remain with Paris-Saint Germain in Ligue 1.
Forbes reported that the deal will give Mbappe around $110 million in salary and a season share of a signing bonus plus an estimated $18 million in annual endorsement income from companies including Nike, Dior, Hublot and Oakley. .
Mbappé was on the cover of the EA Sports FIFA video game, founded the production company Zebra Valley and is an investor in the fantasy platform NFT Sorare.
“It’s already a global icon,” Sorare co-founder Nicolas Julia told Forbes. “He wants to help the world and show, too, that great things can be built outside of France.”
His PSG teammate Messi, 35, is second at $120m with Manchester United’s Ronaldo, 37, third at $100m. They had shared the top two spots since 2014 and were still setting the pace for endorsements, Ronaldo on $60m and Messi on $55m.
In total, the top 10 players will rake in $652 million this season, an 11% increase from last year’s $585 million figure. Mbappé, Messi and the Portuguese Ronaldo together add up to more than half of that total money.
PSG striker Neymar of Brazil was fourth with $87 million followed in order by Mohamed Salah with $53 million, Erling Haaland with $39 million, Robert Lewandowski with $35 million, Eden Hazard with $31 million, Andres Iniesta with $30 million and Kevin De Bruyne with $29. million.