Who are the highest paid soccer players in 2022? The soccer players who make the most money are typically the best players in the game. To get to the level of earning millions of dollars, athletes must train relentlessly, compete at the highest level to win lots of games, and generally possess freakish athletic ability. Soccer stars who earn the most money are true international superstars who live impossibly luxurious lives on and off the pitch. Who is the highest paid soccer player in the world right now? Who are your favorite forbes rich soccer stars?
International soccer stars Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Cristiano Ronaldo earn the most money out of anyone, making the footballing trio among the highest paid athletes of all time. Messi and Neymar's PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe is not far behind on the richest soccer players list, as are Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann and Real Madrid's Gareth Bale.
Check out all the highest paid footballers below and come back when new footballers sign fat contracts to see how their salaries stack up!
Lionel "Leo" Andrés Messi (born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record six Ballon d'Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and in 2020 was named to the Ballon d'Or Dream Team. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 35 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (474), a La Liga and European league season (50), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (8), and most assists in La Liga (192), a La Liga and European league season (21) and the Copa América (17). He's scored over 750 senior career goals.
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), commonly known as Neymar Jr. or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for French club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is known for his dribbling, finishing, skill, pace, and ability to play with both feet.
Neymar came into prominence at an early age at Santos, where he made his professional debut aged 17. He helped the club win two successive Campeonato Paulista championships, a Copa do Brasil, and the 2011 Copa Libertadores, with the latter Santos' first since 1963. Neymar was twice named the South American Footballer of the Year, in 2011 and 2012, and soon relocated to Europe to join Barcelona. As part of Barça's attacking trio with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, he won the continental treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League, and came third for the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2015 for his performances. He then attained a domestic double in the 2015–16 season. In 2017, Neymar transferred from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in a move worth €222 million, making him the most expensive player ever. In France, he won two league titles, a Coupe de France, and a Coupe de la Ligue, which included a domestic treble and being voted Ligue 1 Player of the Year, in his debut season. Neymar's second season with PSG was heavily injury-riddled and marked by controversies.With 60 goals in 97 matches for Brazil since debuting at age 18, Neymar is the third highest goalscorer for his national team, trailing only Pelé and Ronaldo. He was a key player in Brazil's victories at the 2011 South American Youth Championship, where he finished as leading goalscorer, and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, where he won the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. His participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2015 Copa América was cut short by injury and a suspension, respectively, but, the following year, he captained Brazil to their first Olympic gold medal in men's football at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and two years later, featured at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Off the pitch, Neymar ranks among the world's most prominent sportsmen; SportsPro named him the most marketable athlete in the world in 2012 and 2013, and ESPN cited him as the world's fourth-most famous athlete in 2016. In 2017, Neymar was listed by Time to be one of the most influential people in the world, and in 2019, Forbes ranked him the world's third highest-paid athlete (after Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo).
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (born February 5, 1985) is a Portuguese professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr and captains the Portugal national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or awards[note 3] and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 32 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship, and the UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140), and assists (42) in the Champions League, goals in the European Championship (14), international goals (118), and joint-most international appearances (196). He is one of the few players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances and has scored over 800 official senior career goals for club and country. He is the only player to score in five FIFA World Cup tournaments.
Antoine Griezmann (born 21 March 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Atlético Madrid, on loan from Barcelona, and the France national team. A versatile player known for his attacking, passing, and supportive defence, Griezmann has played as an attacking midfielder, winger, and striker in his career. Griezmann is considered one of the world's best players and is twice a Ballon d'Or podium finisher. At international level, Griezmann won the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, made his senior debut for France in 2014 at age 22, and has since appeared in four major tournaments. He finished as top goalscorer and was voted Player of the Tournament as France finished runner-up at UEFA Euro 2016. Griezmann won the Silver Boot as the second highest goalscorer as France won the 2018 FIFA World Cup; he also won the Bronze Ball as the tournament's third best player, and was named Man of the Match in the final.
Kylian Mbappé Lottin is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team. Mbappé came into prominence at an early age, starring for the youth academy at Bondy before gaining a move to Monaco, where he made his professional debut in 2015. Mbappé then quickly established himself as a regular goalscorer for the first team in the 2016-17 season, as he helped the club gain their first Ligue 1 title in seventeen years. A year later, he transferred to Paris Saint-Germain for $180 million, making him the most expensive teenager, and the world's second-most expensive player. In his debut season in the French capital, Mbappé featured heavily as the club captured a domestic treble of Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and Coupe de la Ligue.
Gareth Frank Bale MBE (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation and one of the greatest Welsh players of all time. Bale began his professional career at Southampton, playing at left-back and earning acclaim as a free kick specialist. Bale moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, for an eventual £7 million fee. During his time at Tottenham, managerial and tactical shifts saw him transform into a more attacking player. Bale was transferred to Real Madrid in 2013 for an undisclosed fee, which was confirmed to be a world record transfer fee of £85.1 million (€100.8 million). Being part of the subsequent trio dubbed BBC, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, Bale helped the club to win the 2013–14 Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League, scoring in both finals.
