Messi joins exclusive billionaires club
Argentine joins group of mega-wealthy stars that includes Woods, Mayweather, Ronaldo
Lionel Messi may have had to stay put at Barcelona but the Argentine legend did succeed in joining one new club this year — the one reserved for sporting billionaires, according to Forbes magazine.
The Argentine striker’s career earnings of over $1b (Dh3.672 billion) places the sixtime Ballon d’Or winner in a group of mega-wealthy sports figures containing just Tiger Woods, Floyd Mayweather and his great rival on the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Forbes said that in 2020 Messi was the best paid footballer in the world with an income of $126 million from his Barca salary ($92 million for the 2020/2021 season) and $34 million from sponsors and other sources. The 33-yearold knocked Juventus forward Ronaldo ($117 million) off the top of the football salary chart with Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar ($96 million) in third place and his teammate Kylian Mbappe up in fourth spot ($42 million).
Forbes’ top 10 earning players made a combined $570 million this season, a jump of 11 per cent despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic to European leagues and the global economy.
Michael Jordan is also in the billionaire’s club but the basketball legend’s fortune has largely come after retirement through his long-standing contract with Nike and acquisition of NBA franchise Charlotte Hornets.
The Premier League remains the world’s richest domestic football league but only two of its outfield players feature in the top 10 of the wealth table — Liverpool’s title-winning striker Mohammad Salah in fifth spot ($37 million) and Manchester United’s midfielder Paul Pogba ($34 million) in sixth. Pogba’s teammate, keeper David de Gea ($27 million) is 10th.