Kylian Mbappé will earn at least 131 million euros this season - and thus clearly outperform the eternal leaders of the list of the highest-paid football professionals. The Frenchman should primarily benefit from his surprising contract extension at Paris Saint-Germain.
Kylian Mbappé is the highest-earning professional footballer this season, according to a Forbes report. The Paris Saint-Germain striker is expected to earn an estimated $128 million (around €131 million) before taxes and agent fees for the 2022/2023 season.
Employer PSG paid Mbappé $110 million, part of which resulted from a one-time bonus for the contract extension in May of this year (the so-called “signing fee”). The 23-year-old had extended his contract with the ten-time French champions by three years after he had previously been accused of moving to Real Madrid. Mbappé also receives $18 million from advertising revenue and his own projects.
Since 2014, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have always been in the top two places in Forbes' list of the highest-paid footballers. Messi's financial record years were said to be in 2021 and 2022, when Mbappé's team-mate reportedly raked in $130m each. For Ronaldo, who can hardly convince athletically at Manchester United, the year 2021 with a reported 125 million dollars was particularly worthwhile.
This season, Messi is ranked second ($110 million) by Forbes, with Ronaldo third ($100 million). In terms of the revenue that the players record for their activities off the pitch, Messi (estimated at $55 million) and Ronaldo (around $60 million) are still clearly ahead of Mbappé ($18 million).
