ionigeria.com Nigerian Newspaper
BARCELONA star Lionel Messi has become football’s second billionaire as he tops Forbes’ rich list in 2020.
According to Forbes, the 33-year-old has pocketed over $1,000,000,000 in pre-tax earnings during his career – following in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo.
And they have stated the Argentine international is the highest-paid footballer of 2020.
Messi is said to be set to pocket £98million in total this year from his salary and endorsements.
As well as being sponsored by the likes of Adidas and Pepsi, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner has just released a limited edition Budweiser beer.
Juventus striker Ronaldo is second on the Forbes list, as they state he stands to earn £91m this year.
Unsurprisingly, Brazilian trickster Neymar – who could be handed a seven-game ban for punching Marseille defender Alvaro – is in third place.
The Paris Saint-Germain winger, who quit Nike to join Puma, is in line to pocket £75m, with his Les Parisiens team-mate Kylian Mbappe fourth with £33m.
Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah (£29m) is fifth thanks to his endorsements from Adidas and Vodafone Egypt.
Following him in sixth is Paul Pogba (£26.4m), with his French compatriot Antoine Griezmann seventh with the Barcelona man to earn £25.6m.
Real Madrid outcast Gareth Bale – who is a loan target for Manchester United – is eighth with £22.5m thanks to his whopping wages at the Bernabeu.
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is ninth with £21.7m, with Red Devils goalkeeper David De Gea completing the top ten with the Spaniard to take home £21m.
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