Who is the richest footballer in the world - Ronaldo, Messi or someone else?

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the footballing landscape in Europe for over a decade. They are employed by two European powerhouses in Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United and unsurprisingly both players rank among the highest-earning athletes in the world.

According to Forbes, Lionel Messi was the highest-paid athlete with $130 million (£110m) in pre-tax gross earnings last year. Whereas his arch-rival Ronaldo stands third behind Messi and NBA superstar LeBron James - $121.2 million (£102m) - on $115 million (£97m).

Meanwhile, Messi's PSG teammate Neymar stands fourth on the list with earnings close to $95 million. In the top 10 list, these are the only three footballers that made the cut. But is Messi the richest footballer on the planet? GOAL tries to find out...

Who is the richest footballer in the world?

Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar can be the highest earners but their net worth is far below the richest footballer in the world. Faiq Bolkiah - son of the Prince of Brunei - with an estimated worth of $20 billion (£16.9bn), is in a league of his own and the richest footballer on the planet.

Faiq Bolkiah

The skipper of the Brunei nation team belongs to one of the wealthiest families in the world. His father, Jefri Bolkiah, is the Prince of Brunei and his uncle Hassanal is the Sultan or monarch of the country.

The 24-year-old spent his formative years at the academies of Southampton, Chelsea, and Leicester City. However, after failing to find a place for himself in senior squads with Premier League outfits, he joined Maritimo in Portugal in 2020. After spending a year there, he joined Chonburi in Thailand. In the Thai league, he has made 14 appearances and has four assists to his name.

Bolkiah has six appearances for his national team and has scored once.

Mathieu Flamini

The former Arsenal midfielder might not be counted as the greatest in the sport, but he has done exceptionally well when it comes to secondary innings as an entrepreneur.

He is the co-founder of GF Biochemicals, a leading producer of levulinic acids and derivatives. It is headquartered in Italy and has a presence in the Netherlands. His partner in the company is Pasquale Granata.

Flamini's net worth is above $10 billion (£8.5bn).

Cristiano Ronaldo

The Portuguese is not just a legend of the game, but also a business tycoon. He has sponsorship deals with Nike, ZTE, KFC, Samsung and many other multi-national brands.

CR7 is a brand himself and owns a luxury clothing and accessories line. He also has an impressive hospitality and hotel chain called CR7 Pestana. His net worth is close to $500 million (£423m).

Lionel Messi

Messi might be earning more with PSG than Ronaldo pulls in at Manchester United, but the Argentine falls behind his professional rival in the net worth index.

Like Ronaldo, he also has his own clothing line, the Messi store, which he inaugurated in 2019 in Barcelona. He is the owner of the MiM hotel chain, a premium brand where Messi invested around £26m in 2017.

The player also has a lifetime contract with Adidas and endorses several other brands like Pepsi, MasterCard, and Budweiser. His net worth is around $400 million (£381m).

David Beckham

The England international might have retired from the sport quite some time ago, but he continues to be a global superstar. He is the co-owner of MLS side Inter Miami and continues to be the brand ambassador of H&M, Adidas, Diageo, and L’Oreal, to name a few.

According to the Sun , Beckham earned around £29 million in dividends from his company DB Ventures Limited over the course of 2016 and 2017, meaning that he earned roughly £40,000 a day during that period.

Documents filed at Companies House showed that Beckham was paid a dividend of £18.75m in 2017 from his company DB Ventures Limited, having previously received a £10.2m dividend in 2016. His net worth is estimated to be around $400 million (£338m).

Who are the top 10 richest footballers in the world?