The battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for supremacy of world football has been going back and forth for the best part of a decade.
And after winning the Ballon D’Or last year, the Portuguese maestro has another success to laud over his rival.
Ronaldo has been named as the highest earning footballer in the world by France Football, with Messi coming in second for the 2016-17 season
The French outlet have calculated the top five earners in football, factoring in wages, bonuses and income from advertising over the campaign.
Ronaldo, who will collect €87.5million (£75.6m), tops the chart.
Lionel Messi will earn over €10m less during the season, taking in €76.5m (£66.1m) over the season.
It is another Barcelona player that comes in third. Neymar is expected to pick up €55.5m (£47.9m) in 2016-17, €20m behind Messi but still the third highest total in world football.
That will come as a blow to Gareth Bale, arguably Real Madrid’s second most high profile player. He earns €41m (£35.4m) and comes in third in the earnings table, less than half the amount his team-mate Ronaldo picks up.
Surprisingly, the next name on the list does not even play his club football in Europe.
Ezequiel Lavezzi decided to move to Hebei China Fortune in February 2016. While the sporting benefits of playing in the Chinese Super League are debatable, the financial positives clearly are not.
The Argentinian forward is set to earn €28.5m (£24.63m) over the season.
Source:Dailymailsport
