Ranking of the highest-paid players in 2025: Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list, Yamal in the top 10
At 18, Lamine Yamal becomes the youngest player to enter Forbes’ top 10 highest-paid footballers in 22 years.
Cristiano Ronaldo et Lamine Yamal@Goal
At just 18, FC Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal now ranks among the ten highest-paid players on the planet according to the Forbes 2025 list. A first in more than two decades for a player his age. The young Spanish international, author of a meteoric rise, is expected to earn $43 million this year, thanks in part to a huge ten-year contract recently signed with FC Barcelona.
At the top of the ranking, unsurprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the highest-paid footballer in the world. The Portuguese star of Al Nassr is expected to receive $280 million before taxes and agent fees over the next twelve months, a staggering figure that demonstrates his intact influence at 40. The Forbes ranking takes into account on-field earnings — salaries, bonuses, image rights — as well as commercial deals and personal partnerships.
Top 10 highest-paid footballers in 2025 (Forbes):
Cristiano Ronaldo – $280M
Lionel Messi – $130M
Karim Benzema – $104M
Kylian Mbappé – $95M
Erling Haaland – $80M
Vinícius Júnior – $60M
Mohamed Salah – $55M