According to Forbes magazine, Kylian Mbappe of Paris St. Germain has overtaken Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the highest-paid soccer player in the world for the first time in eight years.
Mbappe, 23, is projected to earn $128 million for the 2022–23 season before agents’ fees, a record for Forbes’ annual rankings, with Messi, another PSG colleague, coming in second at $120 million and Ronaldo, of Manchester United, coming in third at $100 million.
Neymar of PSG ($87 million) and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool ($53 million) completed the top five.
Erling Haaland, who joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in the offseason, has had a stellar start to his career and makes his top 10 debuts with $39 million in earnings.
According to a Forbes article, as Messi and Ronaldo near the end of their illustrious careers, the development of Frenchman Kylian Mbappe and Norwegian Haaland—the only players under 30 on the list—signals a change in the worldwide game.
