- The first payslips of Messi and Ronaldo have been revealed.
- Messi was paid €600/month, while Ronaldo €1M/year.
- Both players have been exceptional players throughout their careers.
Over the past 15 years, Messi and Ronaldo have become the most famous and successful footballers in the world, earning high salaries.
Both players, who together have won 13 Ballon d’Ors (eight for Messi and five for Ronaldo), are no longer playing in Europe. Ronaldo has moved to the Saudi Pro League with Al Nassr, and Messi joined Inter Miami last summer.
Forbes states that Ronaldo’s three-year contract at Al Nassr is worth over €200 million (£172 million).
On the other hand, Marca, a Spanish publication, reports that Messi earns about £43 million per year in Miami. This makes Messi the highest-paid player in the MLS, earning more than Xherdan Shaqiri of the Chicago Fire, who makes £6.5 million per year.
Messi and Ronaldo have worked hard over the decades to reach a level where they can earn such high salaries.
However, when they first started, both players earned much less.
El Futbolero reports that Messi earned just €600 (£516) a month as a youth player at Barcelona, which is just over £6000 per year.
But when Messi signed his first professional contract with Barcelona, his salary jumped to €3 million a year (£2.6 million).
The same publication also mentioned that Ronaldo was earning €1 million (£860,000) per year when he signed his first professional contract with Sporting.
When Ronaldo transferred to Manchester United in 2003, his salary more than doubled to £35,000 per week, which is equivalent to £1.82 million per year, according to Dispensable Soccer.
Since then, both players have seen a steady increase in their earnings. Forbes reports that Ronaldo’s net worth is $136 million (£107 million) and Messi’s is $130 million (£102 million).
Messi and Ronaldo are scheduled to play against each other on February 1 in Riyadh, which could be their last match against each other.
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