Who earns more in 2024/25: Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi?

According to Forbes, Cristiano Ronaldo has surpassed Lionel Messi as the highest-paid football player of 2024. The top 10 is led by the Al-Nassr star and includes four Saudi Pro League players: Sadio Mane, Karim Benzema, and Neymar.

Three well-known Premier League players—Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, and Erling Haaland are included in the top 10. In contrast to previous years, only two La Liga players Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr., summer arrivals from European champion Real Madrid are on the list. 

Messi represents MLS in a segment that is dominated by players who play in Saudi Arabia or Europe, and Ronaldo is the only player to earn more than the World Cup winner. As his second season in the Middle East draws to a close, Ronaldo leads the list with an annual salary of $285 million, which dwarfs that of all of his footballing peers.

Argentina and Barcelona icons Messi, who earns $135 million annually, comes second, while Neymar and Benzema, two Pro League players, complete out the top four. Next up are Mbappe and Haaland, who are ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, and are undoubtedly competing for the title of finest current footballer as Ronaldo and Messi near the finish line of their careers.

Ronaldo, the former star of Real Madrid and Manchester United, has been named the highest-paid football player in the world for a seventh time in the past eleven years.

“Things would have been different” : Luis Castro

Former head coach Luis Castro reflected on his time at Al-Nassr, pointing out Al-Hilal's strength and drawing a comparison to Real Madrid and Barcelona's enduring rivalry.

The former Al-Nassr head coach said, "It feels like things would have been different without Al-Hilal, but that's life. Real Madrid often don't achieve their goals because Barcelona exist and vice versa. A team doesn't stop being great just because they don't win at a certain point. Al-Hilal had Mitrovic, Cancelo, Ruben Neves, Bono, Milinkovic-Savic... They also broke the Guinness record for consecutive wins. But I have a clear conscience: we gave everything we had and managed to improve the team."