Forbes’ football rich list for 2023 puts Cristiano Ronaldo at the top, making him the highest-paid football player in the world this year. He is ahead of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe.

The Portuguese forward, who has been with Saudi Pro League team Al Nassr since January, is set to make the most money, $260 million.

He gets $200 million from his club and an extra $60 million from endorsements and deals. This makes him the best paid professional athlete in any sport this year.

Messi is in second place, making about $135 million, which is almost half of Ronaldo’s total. This is the first MLS player on the list since David Beckham in 2012, and he is a midfielder for Inter Miami.

Neymar, the forward for Al-Hilal, is in third place with $112 million, just ahead of Mbappe, who is in second place with $110 million.

Three of the top five play their football in Saudi Arabia. Karim Benzema, a forward for Al-Ittihad who used to play for Real Madrid, is in fifth place with $106 million.

The first player from the Premier League to make the list is Erling Haaland, a scorer for Manchester City who is worth $58 million.

He is sixth, behind Mohamed Salah ($53m) of Liverpool, Sadio Mane ($52m), Kevin De Bruyne ($39m) of City, and Harry Kane ($36m), who used to play for Tottenham.

Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona makes $34 million a year, making him the highest-paid player in La Liga.

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