Love or loathe them, there’s no getting away from the fact that the best soccer players are paid astronomical sums.

They can also boost their earnings by performing well at major tournaments, like this year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

If Argentina claim the trophy, Lionel Messi will reportedly make an extra 20% on his already lofty salary thanks to additional endorsements.

But it’s not just
current players that make the big bucks. Legends (and average players) from
yesteryear can also pull in big money after retirement.

Below we’ve listed the
top 10 richest soccer players of all time and how much their estimated net
worth is.

10. Alexandre Pato – $145 Million

Many might be surprised
to find Alexandre Pato on this list.

After all, he didn’t
exactly set world football alight, unlike many others on this list. The
overriding memory for many fans is that Pato fell way short of his potential.

He spent several years
of his career at AC Milan before moving to numerous other clubs and now plays
for Orlando City in the MLS.

His current salary for
City ($200,000 per month) doesn’t compare to the highest-paid players in the
world. Still, he has had lucrative contracts in the past, including in China.

Pato was also a popular figure in Brazil, especially when he was younger, so he secured plenty of high-level endorsements.

9. Ronaldo – $160 Million

The first Ronaldo on our
list (no prizes for guessing the other) is a true legend of modern soccer and
was part of the iconic Brazil team that won the World Cup in 2002.

The double Ballon d’Or
winner was one of the most recognizable faces in the game by the late 90s, and
in 1996, he signed a life-changing contract with Nike.

Allegedly worth $180
million, the deal between Ronaldo and Nike made him one of the world’s richest
sports stars and he’s still among the wealthiest soccer players today.

$180 million might seem
like a lot for Nike to have paid, but shortly after signing the Brazilian, the
company designed the Mercurial R9 soccer boot.

Ronaldo wore the boots
at France 98, where he was voted best player, and the Mercurial became one of
the most famous soccer cleats in the world.

8. Zlatan Ibrahimović – $190
Million

Next up: Zlatan!

He has been one of the
most exciting strikers in the world over the past 15 years, and nobody knows
this more than Zlatan himself.

He’s played for teams
worldwide, including Barcelona, Manchester United, LA Galaxy, PSG, and now AC
Milan.

Despite being 40 years
old, Zlatan is still AC Milan’s highest-paid player, earning €7 million ($8.3
million) per year.

He has also worked with
brands such as Nike, Volvo, and Nivea, further boosting his fortune.

7. Neymar – $200 Million

Next up is another
Brazilian: Neymar.

He was the most
expensive player of all time when PSG splashed the cash to bring him to Paris
in a deal worth €222 million ($261.5 million).

Before heading to
France, he was a key part of the Barcelona attack alongside Lionel Messi and
Luis Suarez.

As you might expect,
Neymar receives a substantial salary at PSG, taking home around $42.5 million
per year, which is about $817,000 per week.

Sponsorships are also
plentiful, with the Brazilian having deals in place with Puma, Red Bull, and
more. These sponsorships amount to about $25 million per year.

6. Dave Whelan – $220 Million

Unless you are a keen
follower of English soccer, you probably haven’t heard of Dave Whelan. You may
be surprised to see his name on the list, even if you are.

Whelan made nearly 200
English football league appearances between 1956 and 1966 and was even an FA
Cup runner-up with Blackburn Rovers in 1960.

I know what you’re
thinking… Soccer players’ salaries weren’t great back then, were they? No,
definitely not.

But when he retired,
Whelan moved into business with tremendous success.

This eventually led to
him buying Wigan Athletic Football Club in 1995. Under his ownership, the team
reached the Premier League and won the FA cup in 2013.

All good things come to
those who wait.

5. David Beckham – $400 Million

David Beckham being
named one of the richest soccer players in the world will come as a shock to
absolutely no one.

Unless you’ve been
living under a rock for the past couple of decades, you will have noticed just
how many sponsorships deals the former England captain has. 

“Golden Balls” counts
Adidas, Pepsi, Konami, Haig Club, Samsung, Maserati, and Jaguar among his
sponsors, but the list doesn’t end there.

He also earned an exceptional salary as a player, having played for Manchester United and Real Madrid – two of the best soccer teams of all time. He also earned a total of $50 million across five years at LA Galaxy.

David Beckham isn’t just
all about the money, though.

He is also an ambassador
for UNICEF and founder of the charity Malaria No More UK. Good on you, Becks.

4. Lionel Messi – $400 Million

Number four on the list
of richest soccer players is Lionel Messi. He spent most of his career at the
Camp Nou, becoming an icon to Barcelona fans.

However, he switched
teams in 2021, heading to PSG to join Neymar and Kylian Mbappé (the player with
the highest yearly salary).

Messi is seen by many as
the greatest player of all time, although the next player on this list might
argue with that.

He’s unsurprisingly one
of the world’s highest-paid soccer stars, reportedly being paid around $859,000
per week. He also pocketed a $29.5 million signing-on fee when moving to PSG.

As you might expect,
brands are clamoring to be associated with Messi, and he has deals with Adidas,
Pepsi, and more.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo – $450 Million

Next on the list is
Cristiano Ronaldo – a man who rivals Messi for the tag of the greatest player
ever.

Now back at Manchester
United, the former five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s influence may be waning on
the pitch, but commercially he’s still elite. 

Currently, Ronaldo earns
around £500,000 ($691,000) per week in England – a figure seen as a great deal
by many fans.

Along with Messi, he is
the most marketable figure in soccer and has numerous deals, including ones
with Nike and Tag Heuer.

This promotional pulling
power is one of the reasons Ronaldo sits third on our list and has an estimated
net worth of nearly half a billion dollars.

2. Mathieu Flamini – $14 Billion

Former France
international Mathieu Flamini had a very good, if not glittering, career
compared to some of his colleagues on this list.

The no-nonsense
midfielder undoubtedly made millions of dollars across his playing career,
where he played for some of Europe’s elite clubs, including Arsenal and Milan.

But it was after hanging
up his boots that Flamini really made it to the big time financially.

He is the co-founder of
a company called GF Biochemicals, which became the world’s first company to
mass-produce levulinic acid.

This acid is made from
waste wood, can replace oil in a range of products, and was named by the U.S.
Department of Energy as “one of the 12 molecules that can help unlock a
“greener” world.”

GF Biochemicals has
already made the world a better place and has an estimated valuation of around
$25 billion, so hats off to you, Mathieu!

And people say that
soccer players aren’t smart…

1. Faiq Bolkiah – $20 Billion

The name Faiq Bolkiah
may not ring a bell, even if you’re a soccer fan.

However, the Sultan of
Brunei is famously wealthy, and this happens to be his nephew. Faiq Bolkiah is
the son of the Prince of Brunei and has an estimated net worth of $20 billion.

A former Southampton,
Chelsea, and Leicester City youth player, Faiq now plays for Chonburi in Thai
League 1. He is also a full Bruneian international and has represented his
country six times, scoring once.

We can’t imagine his
wages are as high as some of the other players on this list, but he probably
doesn’t worry about that too much.

If you enjoyed this, be sure to check out the top 10 richest female players too! Or read our soccer guides such as Soccer Positions Explained.