With the end of the year fast approaching, here is a look at who the highest-paid footballers are in 2023, including Inter Miami No. 10 Lionel Messi, Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammate Sadio Mane.
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Forbes recently released a list of the 10 players who will have earned the most money in this calendar year, with the Saudi Pro League's growing influence on the sport significantly changing the landscape.
Four stars featuring in the top 10 play their football in Saudi Arabia, having completed moves to the Middle East over the past year in an influx that started when Ronaldo decided it was time to wave goodbye to Europe following a fallout with Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
Here are the 10 highest-paid players in the world in 2023:
His colleague Mane comes in at eighth in the ranking with his yearly earnings of $52 million (R978.7 million), a figure that includes the money he is paid outside of his wages in the Gulf country.
Al Ittihad's Karim Benzema, meanwhile, is fifth on the list and former Paris Saint-Germain No. 10 Neymar is third, one spot behind his good friend and former teammate Messi, who is expected to earn far less than his long-time rival.
Following his transfer to Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur, England captain Harry Kane is now reportedly among the best-paid players in the game, joining Manchester City duo Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.
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With earnings of $53 million (R997.5 million) in 2023, the Egyptian international is the only African player on the list. PSG forward Kylian Mbappe is fourth and is the only star in the top five still plying his trade on the European continent.
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