Barcelona captain Lionel Messi is officially a billionaire, according to Forbes.
The 33-year-old is football’s second billionaire, following Cristiano Ronaldo who reached the same milestone earlier this year.
Throughout his career, Lionel Messi has pocketed over $1,000,000,000 in pre-tax earnings and is expected to earn £98 million this year due to his salary and various sponsorship deals – making him the top earner on Forbes’ 2020 football rich list in 2020.
Also making Forbes’ rich list are the likes of Ronaldo, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah
News of Messi’s riches come after he confirmed he will be staying at Barcelona following reports he wanted to leave the club.
Check out the Forbes’ top 10 earners in football in 2020 below.
The World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players 2020:
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina) – $126 million (£98 million)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus & Portugal) – $117m (£91m)
3. NeymarM (Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil) $96 million (£74.7 million)
4. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain & France) – $42 million (£32.6 million)
5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt) – $37 million (£28.8 million)
6. Paul Pogba – $34 million (Manchester United & France) (£26.5 million)
7. Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona & France) – $33 million (£25.7 million)
8. Gareth Bale – $29 million (Real Madrid & Wales) (£22.6 million)
9. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich & Poland) – $28 million (£21.8 million)
10. David de Gea (Manchester United & Spain) – $27 million (£21 million)