Cristiano Ronaldo set to lose his mantle as world's best-paid footballer

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo earns big money playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia

REUTERS
Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 14/08/2023

- 09:03

The 38-year-old earns big money playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia

Cristiano Ronaldo looks set to lose his mantle of being the best-paid footballer in the world.

The Portugal international was given an annual wage of £177million upon moving to Al-Nassr from Manchester United last year.


No other player earns more. However, that's now likely to change with the veteran poised to be gazumped by Neymar.

Neymar is on the verge of moving to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal, with Paris Saint-Germain eager to get the attacker off the wage bill as they look to win the Champions League next season.

Neymar PSG

Neymar is set to earn more than Cristiano Ronaldo once he leaves PSG behind

REUTERS

And L'Equipe say the forward's wages out in the Middle East with eclipse Ronaldo's earnings in the same region of the world.

It's claimed he's primed to earn fractionally more with a partnership bonus set to boost his pay packet. They write: “Some sources familiar with the matter speak of negotiations that will ensure him a total income higher than that of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr."

Ronaldo has been a huge hit at Al-Nassr since his arrival last year, scoring 20 goals from 25 appearances for the club.

And it'll be interesting to see how Neymar fares in Saudi.

The forward will leave Europe behind having won seven league titles during stints at Barcelona and PSG.

However, Neymar has arguably failed to fulfil his potential.

Though he won the Champions League with Barcelona, he's been unable to get his hands on Europe's biggest trophy in the time since.

Neymar got PSG to the final of the competition back in 2020.

Yet the Ligue 1 giants fell at the last hurdle, with Bayern Munich winning 1-0 following a goal from Kingsley Coman.

Neymar had actually been linked with a return to Barcelona in recent days.

However, with Xavi reluctant to welcome his former team-mate back to the Nou Camp, the player will be strutting his stuff for Al-Hilal instead.

The Saudi side had actually had a bid for Kylian Mbappe, Neymar's PSG team-mate, accepted earlier in the summer.

But the France international had no interest in moving to the club.

Al-Hilal have had a strong transfer window so far, signing four top players from European teams.

Kalidou Koulibaly joined from Chelsea, just 12 months after moving to Stamford Bridge from Serie A side Napoli.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic touched down from Lazio after years of being linked with a move to the Premier League.

Ruben Neves opted to leave Wolves for Al-Hilal, admitting the money was too good for him to turn down.

And Malcom has also moved to the Saudi side, with the 26-year-old touching down from Russian team Zenit.

Meanwhile, PSG boss Luis Enrique was asked about Neymar and a potential departure over the weekend.

Yet the Spaniard kept his cards close to his chest, saying: "The philosophy of this club is very clear, it is above all the players and coaches.

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Cristiano Ronaldo Al-Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo has flourished for Al-Nassr since his arrival

PA

"Regarding the issue of Neymar, I have as a rule to keep conversations with the players private.

"My actions will say more things than my words."

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