Lionel Messi may have gotten knocked out of the Champions League this year, but he earned a different kind of title that is sure to make him happy. Lionel Messi is the highest paid footballer in soccer – which makes him one of the highest paid athletes in the world.
Lionel Messi reportedly earned $83.4 million (€74 million, or £59.3 million) in 2015, which placed him higher than Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, the #2 and #3 highest earning footballers, respectively. Neymar earned $49 million in 2015, while Ronaldo earned $76 million.
Neymar’s place as the 3rd highest paid footballer in the world is especially impressive given how much lower his salary is than Messi and Ronaldo’s. Barcelona paid Neymar €5.6 million in annual salary in 2015, almost ten times less than what it paid Messi, $51.8 million, and what Real Madrid paid Ronaldo, $52.6 million.
As the highest paid footballer in the world, Lionel Messi earned nearly 10x Neymar in 2015 (Photo: @BarcaMania16 | Twitter)
It is a massive achievement to be named the highest paid footballer in the world, and it is one that Lionel Messi can take some solace in now that he and Barcelona have been eliminated from the Champions League.
Barcelona was on track to become the first team in history to repeat as Champions League winners, as well as the first team in European history to win back-to-back trebles.
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