Barcelona FC player Lionel Messi was crowned the world’s top paid soccer player to beat his arch rival Christiano Ronaldo.
The two had an epic rivalry that lasted as long as 15 years, and although Ronaldo played 146 more games than Messi, there’s a raging argument about who’s better between the two, but at least for 2019 Messi, that’s financial.
Most of Messi’s 2019 fortune comes from his Barca salary and endorsements deals, taking home more than 100 million pounds.
Messi, the 6-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, earns a weekly salary of 500 thousand pounds, and in 2019 alone he made an astounding 120 million pounds, beating Ronaldo, who made 109 million pounds that same year.
Juventas Ronaldo earns a weekly salary of £688 thousand and is currently the world’s top-paid soccer player. His annual salary for 2019 was £31 million.
Most of the earnings are an accumulation of their salaries, bonuses, endorsements and other streams of income.
Who is on the highest-paid list?
The most paid soccer players in 2019 include Lionel Messi at number 1 with a combined revenue of £ 120 million.
Christiano Ronaldo is number 2 with a combined income of £109 million.
PSG’s Neymar earned an impressive 87 million pounds, while Real Madrid’s Christian Bale earned 35.45 million pounds in number four.
Number five is Antoine Griezmann, from Barcelona, earned £35.25 million, while Eden Hazard, from Real Madrid, earned £32.06 million at number six.
Andres Iniesta, who plays for Vissel Kobe, sits on the seventh spot with a revenue of 31.14 million pounds for 2019, while Raheem Sterling who is playing for Manchester City comes in number eight with a revenue of 30.96 million pounds.
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski takes the ninth spot with a £26.56 million yearly income while Kylian Mbappe tops off the list with a £24.73 million income for 2019.
2020 might be a different story…
We will have to wait and see how their annual income will be affected by 2020 as a result of the various disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Christiano Ronaldo is rumored to be leaving the Juventus side due to their internal restructuring under the new leadership of Andrea Pirlo.
Ronaldo’s high salary is proving to be a strain on the club, and there have been reports that he has been offered to various clubs, including Barcelona, but his salary may be what will stop clubs from taking him.
Most clubs have been hit financially by the coronavirus, and very few clubs can afford the former Manchester United and Real Madrid’s monthly wages.
Finally, let’s settle this, who is better Ronaldo or Messi?
The Messi vs. Ronaldo debate may be the toughest question ever asked in the history of football, and although it may be difficult to answer, it is undoubted that Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the two best players in the world right now.
Over the last decade Lionel Messi has led Barcelona to seven title leagues, two Champions League while Ronaldo has led Real Madrid to two league titles and four Champions League titles.
Messi currently leads on the Ballon d’Or awards with 6 awards, while Ronaldo is not far behind with 5 awards.
However Ronaldo has currently played 140-plus more games than Messi, so it’s hard to really give an accurate answer to who is best between the two.
