Soccer players earning 352.3 billion won this year
Neymar 3rd - Benzema 5th in Saudi Arabia
Cristiano Ronaldo (Alnasr-photo) was the highest paid soccer player this year, according to a new report.
On Thursday, Forbes, a U.S. economic magazine, released the "2023 World Soccer Player Earnings Ranking," and Ronaldo took the top spot with $260 million (about KRW 35.23 billion). That's about $960,000 a day. Ronaldo's earnings were nearly twice as much as the second-place finisher, Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), who earned $135 million.
Ronaldo's move to the Saudi Arabian league was estimated to have earned him $200 million in salary. After playing for Manchester United in the English Premier League (EPL), Ronaldo moved to Al-Nasr in the Saudi League in January of this year. Ronaldo reportedly earned $60 million from sponsors such as Nike. Neymar, who plays for Al-Hilal, is third on the list ($112 million), followed by Karim Benzema of Al-Ittihad ($106 million). Three of the top five annual earners, including Neymar and Benzema, were from the Saudi league. Elling Holland ($58 million), who plays for Manchester City in the EPL, was sixth on the list, earning half as much as Benzema. This means that players who play in the Saudi league earn more money.
Ronaldo extended his record for most goals in an A-match to 125 on Thursday when he scored twice in Portugal's seventh Group J match against Slovakia in their European Championship 2024 qualifier in his native Portugal. Ronaldo scored on a penalty kick in the 29th minute of the match, then rattled the net again in the 27th minute to give Portugal a 3-2 victory. Ronaldo also extended his record for most appearances in A-matches to 202.