Checkout 10 Highest Paid Soccer Stars in The World

Soccer is among the Most followed sports in the world, the famous soccer players get huge attention from the crowd especially from the football fans besides their extremely high yearly income. The clubs and national teams pay their players huge amount of salary as they also earn big bucks from the jersey sponsorships and television rights fees. Checkout 10 highest paid soccer stars in the world.

Top 10 Highest Paid Soccer Players 2016

10. Luis Suarez($19.9 Million)

Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Uruguayan national team as a striker. According to Forbes he earns a total of $19.9 million per year  out of which $15.4 million comes as the salary from the club and he also earns $4.5 million from his endorsements each year.

Many other amazing football stars such as the legendary Dutchman Robin Van Persie and third runner-up for the 2013 Ballon d’Or Franck Ribery also deserve honorable mention in the list of highest paid soccer players. Van Persie currently gets $16 million salary from Manchester United along with his $3 million endorsements.  Ribery also gets a whopping $17 million salary from Bayern Munich beside his endorsement earnings of $1 million.

9. Sergio Aguero – $25.3

Argentine national soccer player Sergio Leonel Agüero Del Castillo is widely known just as Sergio Aguero and currently plays for Manchester City in the English Premier League. According to the recent years’ salary statistics, Sergio Aguero earns a total of $25.3 million per year out of which $18.1 million comes as the salary from the club and he also earns $7.2 million from his endorsements each year. His current major sponsors are sports megabrand Puma, as well as Pepsi and Gillette for which he appeared in numerous ad campaigns throughout the world. The club already signed his extension till the 2017 football season. Puma made him their highest paid soccer player with an endorsement deal in 2011.

8. James Rodriguez – $25.4 million

Colombian national soccer player James David Rodríguez Rubio, usually known as James Rodríguez or simply James, is a  footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Colombian national team, as an attacking midfielder or winger. He earns a total of $25.4 million per year out of which $21.4 million comes as the salary from the club and he also earns $4 million from his endorsements each year. he is the 8th in list of Highest Paid Soccer Players 2016.

7. Wayne Rooney – $25.8 million

England’s national soccer player Wayne Mark Rooney is widely known just as Wayne Rooney and currently plays for Manchester United in the English Premier League. According to the recent years’ salary statistics, Wayne Rooney earns a total of $25.8 million per year out of which $19 million comes as the salary from the club and he also earns $6.8 million from his endorsements each year. His current major sponsors are sports megabrand Nike, as well as Samsung and Harper Collins, for which he appeared in numerous ad campaigns throughout the world. This 10-year veteran of the Manchester United signed a 4 contract with the team in 2013 with a contract fee of $104 million. He is also the fan favorite in terms of jersey sales.

6. Radamel Falcao – $31 million

Colombian national soccer player Radamel Falcao García Zárate is widely known as Falcao García and currently plays for Manchester United on loan from AS Monaco in the English Premier League. According to the recent years’ salary statistics, Radamel Falcao earns a total of $26 million per year out of which $27 million comes as the salary from the club and he also earns $4 million from his endorsements each year. His current major sponsors are sports megabrand Puma, as well as Samsung and Gillette, for which he appeared in numerous ad campaigns throughout the world. He was also nicknamed El Tigre during his career with Atletico Madrid where he scored 34 goals in 41 caps. He is now in a 5-year contract with the French team AS Monaco.

5. Neymar Jr. $31.7 million

Brazilian national soccer player Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior is widely known just as Neymar and currently plays for Barcelona in the Spanish Liga BBVA. According to the recent years’ salary statistics, Neymar Jr. earns a total of $31.7 million per year out of which $14.7 million comes as the salary from the club and he also earns $17 million from his endorsements each year. His current major sponsors are Nike, Castrol, Panasonic, L’Oreal and Volkswagen for which he appeared in numerous ad campaigns throughout the world. He entered into a contract worth of $124 million with the Spanish club Barcelona in 2013. He received a total of $13 million signing bonus which included in his net transfer fees from Brazilian club Santos.

4. Gareth Bale – $34.9 million

Wales’s national soccer player Gareth Frank Bale is widely known just as Gareth Bale and currently plays for Real Madrid in the Spanish Liga BBVA. According to the recent years’ salary statistics, Gareth Bale earns a total of $34.9 million per year out of which $25.4 million comes as the salary from the club and he also earns $6.5 million from his endorsements each year. His current major sponsors are sports megabrand Adidas, EA Sports and Lucozade for which he appeared in numerous ad campaigns throughout the world. His recent contract with Spanish club Real Madrid in 2013 pays him up to $456,000 in weekly wages. He also got a transfer fee worth of $118 million from Real Madrid during his transfer from English Premier League Tottenham Hotspur.

3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – $41.8 million

Swedish national soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic is well known for his bicycle kick and currently plays for the Paris Saint-Germain in the French Ligue 1. According to the recent years’ salary statistics, Ibrahimovic earns a total of $41.8 million per year out of which $35.8 million comes as the salary from the club and he also earns $6 million from his endorsements each year. His current major sponsors are Nike and Volvo for which he appeared in numerous ad campaigns throughout the world. He is the first player over 20 years in the French league to score 30 goals as the league top scorer. Nonetheless, his efforts were not quite successful for his country as the Swedish team didn’t qualify for the recent 2014 FIFA World Cup.

2. Lionel Messi – $70.5 million

Argentine national soccer player Lionel Andrés Messi is widely known as the Leo Messi and currently plays for Barcelona in the Spanish Liga BBVA. According to the recent years/ salary statistics, Messi earns a total of $70.5 million per year out of which $48.5 million comes as the salary from the club and he also earns $22 million from his endorsements each year. His current major sponsors are Adidas, Samsung, Pepsi, Turkish Airlines and Herbalife for which he appeared in numerous ad campaigns throughout the world. He won the FIFA Ballon d’Or for a record consecutive four times. One of his major sponsors, Adidas, launched his signature shoe last year before the recent FIFA World Cup. Last year he had orders to pay $6.5 million tax by the Spanish tax authority.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo – $79 million

Portuguese national soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo is widely known as the CR7 and currently plays for Real Madrid in the Spanish Liga BBVA. According to the recent years’ salary statistics, CR7 earns a total of $79 million per year out of which $52.2 million comes as the salary from the club and he also earns $26.8 million from his endorsements each year. His current major sponsors are Nike, Samsung, Tag Heuer, Fly Emirates and Herbalife for which he appeared in numerous ad campaigns throughout the world. He is currently in a contract with Spanish club Real Madrid for 5 years with a net worth of $206 million. Ronaldo also launched his own brand of underwear labeled CR7 last year which further boosts his net income per year. He is not merely the highest paid soccer player but is also one of the Wealthiest Athletes in the World.