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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Forbes’ 2025 estimate ranks Cristiano Ronaldo first among men’s footballers at $280 million in total earnings, with Lamine Yamal tenth at $43 million. The highest women’s figure in the most recent women’s football ranking available for this comparison is Aitana Bonmatí’s £835,000 annual salary, from a 2024 list. The two lists measure different things, in different currencies, over different periods, so the gap between them cannot be converted into a reliable pay ratio. The sections below set out what each list counts and where the comparison breaks down.
Men’s top ten: Forbes 2025 estimated total earnings
Forbes’ men’s ranking estimates total earnings in U.S. dollars, combining on-field pay with off-field income. Together the ten players are estimated to earn $945 million. Forbes set the cutoff for inclusion at $43 million, which is Yamal’s total.
| Rank | Player | Total estimated earnings | On-field | Off-field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | $280 million | $230 million | $50 million |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | $130 million | $60 million | $70 million |
| 3 | Karim Benzema | $104 million | $100 million | $4 million |
| 4 | Kylian Mbappé | $95 million | $70 million | $25 million |
| 5 | Erling Haaland | $80 million | $60 million | $20 million |
| 6 | Vinicius Jr. | $60 million | $40 million | $20 million |
| 7 | Mohamed Salah | $55 million | $35 million | $20 million |
| 8 | Sadio Mané | $54 million | $50 million | $4 million |
| 9 | Jude Bellingham | $44 million | $29 million | $15 million |
| 10 | Lamine Yamal | $43 million | $33 million | $10 million |
How Forbes builds these estimates
- On-field figures cover the 2025–26 season and include base salaries, bonuses and, in some cases, club image-rights agreements.
- Messi’s on-field figure reflects his 2025 compensation instead, because MLS follows a calendar-year schedule.
- Off-field figures include annual cash from endorsements, licensing, appearances, memorabilia and qualifying business interests.
- Estimates draw on public databases, including Capology, and on conversations with industry insiders. They are estimates, not disclosed contract terms.
- Amounts are converted to U.S. dollars at the current exchange rate.
- Taxes and agent fees are not deducted. Transfer fees are excluded. Investment income such as interest and dividends is excluded, though certain equity-sale proceeds are included.
This article reflects the 2025 edition of the Forbes ranking only. Figures published in later editions are not reflected here.
Women’s top ten: 2024 annual-salary ranking
The women’s list is a salary-only ranking from 2024. SPORTbible reproduced it in July 2025 and attributes it to GiveMeSport. Figures are in pounds sterling. Because it reports annual salary, it does not capture endorsements or other off-field income, and it is a year older than the men’s estimates.
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| Rank | Player | Reported annual salary (2024 ranking) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aitana Bonmatí | £835,000 |
| 2 | Alexia Putellas | £584,000 |
| 3 | Sam Kerr | £449,000 |
| 4 | Racheal Kundananji | £385,000 |
| 5 | Keira Walsh | £382,000 |
| 6 | Ada Hegerberg | £332,000 |
| 7 | Marta | £322,000 |
| 8 | Wendie Renard | £298,000 |
| 9 | Christine Sinclair | £288,000 |
| 10 | Trinity Rodman | £214,000 |
Where the women’s figures come from
SPORTbible’s article presents the table as GiveMeSport’s 2024 ranking. The article does not say whether each figure comes from a disclosed contract or a third-party estimate, so read these as reported salaries rather than verified contract terms. No currency conversion date is given, and no conversion to U.S. dollars has been applied here.
Why the two lists cannot be compared directly
The two tables differ on every axis that matters for a pay comparison. Check each row before drawing a conclusion from the difference in scale.
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| Factor | Men’s list (Forbes) | Women’s list (GiveMeSport via SPORTbible) |
|---|---|---|
| Year or season | 2025 edition; on-field figures mostly for the 2025–26 season (Messi’s on-field figure reflects 2025 compensation) | 2024 ranking, reproduced July 2025 |
| Metric | Total estimated earnings (on-field plus off-field) | Annual salary |
| Currency and conversion | U.S. dollars, converted at the current exchange rate | Pounds sterling; conversion date not stated |
| Bonuses, image rights, endorsements and business income | Included as described above | Not stated; the list is described only as annual salary |
| Disclosed or estimated | Third-party estimates published by Forbes | Reported figures reproduced secondhand; disclosure status not stated |
Read the two tables side by side for scale only. Ronaldo’s $280 million and Bonmatí’s £835,000 describe different things, in different currencies, for different years.
No same-year, all-in top ten for women’s football was located for this comparison. Forbes’ 2025 women’s ranking covers athletes across multiple sports and does not provide a football-only list, so it cannot stand in for one.
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What the top-ten lists leave out
Both rankings describe a small group at the top of the market. FIFA’s 2024 Benchmarking Report, as quoted in the 2024–25 PFA A-League Women report, found an average salary of $36,600 across the 22 most professional women’s leagues. That is a league-wide average rather than a top-earner figure, and it sits far below every name on either table.
SPORTbible also quotes footballer Alisha Lehmann, speaking to La Repubblica: “After training, I often tell Douglas [Luiz] that it’s unfair. We do the same job, but he earns a hundred thousand times more than me.” This is her personal view rather than an independently verified pay calculation, and the article does not provide a role or title for her beyond identifying her as a footballer.
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