MESSI ZOOMS PAST RONALDO

Argentine tops highest-paid player list ahead of Cristiano

LIONEL Messi is the bestpaid player on the planet as he rakes in an astonishing £7.3 million (RM38.4 million) a month before tax — nearly twice the amount that Cristiano Ronaldo does at Juventus.

In L’Equipes annual salary report, the French news outlet revealed who the 10 best-paid footballers in Europe are going by monthly wage before tax.

Of these 10, five play in Spain, a pair play in France and England respectively while just the one player features in Italy.

It's no secret that modern-day players are paid huge sums of money but the amount Messi receives on a monthly basis is extraordinary — even by footballers standards.

The Barcelona talisman signed a new contract in November 2017 which propelled him to the top of the list, beating long-term rival Ronaldo in second who earns a staggering £4.1m a month before tax.

Surprisingly, coming in third is Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid who earns £2.9m a month following his well-publicised contract renewal before the World Cup this summer.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar follows Griezmann with a reported monthly earnings of £2.7m while Luis Suarez completes the top five with a monthly wage of £2.5m.

Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale (£2.2m), Philippe Coutinho (£2m), Alexis Sanchez (£2m), Kylian Mbappe (£1.5m) and Mesut Ozil (£1.4m) complete the list.

Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski failed to break into the top 10 list with a reported monthly earning of £1.2m in the Bundesliga.

L’Equipe also released the top earners in Ligue 1, and unsurprisingly, the top five was dominated by PSG players.

With Neymar and Mbappe leading the way, Edinson Cavani (£1.3m), Thiago Silva (£1m) and Angel Di Maria (£1m) complete the list.

The French newspaper also reported that Mbappe’s monthly wage increased by £160,000 between his first and second season at the Parisan club following his big-money switch from Monaco.