Messi trumps Ronaldo to become Europe's highest paid footballer
What's the story
Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has always been in competition with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo in the battle to become the best footballer of their generation. With great footballing abilities also come high paying contracts and endorsement deals. But how much does each football superstar earn from their respective clubs? We've found that Messi is now the highest paid footballer in all of Europe. Here're further details.
Messi
Messi and Ronaldo have had reasons for their choices
Messi has been with Barcelona not only because of his love for the Camp Nou, but also because Barcelona have been ready to offer their talisman enticing amounts of money which has kept him with them. Ronaldo, on the other hand, was clearly unhappy with the amount he was getting at Real Madrid, and thus decided to switch to Juventus.
Earnings
How much does each superstar earn?
Players from the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, and Ligue 1 crowd the top 10 list. Among the major European leagues, only Bundesliga has found no representative in the top 10. Messi earns an incredible £7.3 million per month from Barcelona, while Juventus pays £4.1 million every month to CR7. Antoine Griezmann has replaced Neymar in the third spot, earning £2.9 million per month.
Other players
Who are the other players outside the top three?
Brazilian superstar Neymar is at fourth with £2.7 million monthly earnings, and interestingly, all top five earners from Ligue 1 are PSG players. Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale are fifth and sixth respectively with £2.5 million and £2.2 million monthly earnings each. Coutinho is seventh with £2 million, followed by Alexis Sanchez with £2 million, Kylian Mbappe with £1.5 million, and Ozil with £1.4 million.
Observation
Football going towards an oligarchial structure
Whenever we talk about riches, only few clubs and players' names resonate. This concentration of wealth in the hands of few creates an economic elite which is detrimental for the overall development of football as other clubs can hardly compete. This is the reason why rich European clubs want a separate league to isolate themselves. Such a move could slowly relegate poorer clubs into oblivion.