Lionel Messi to earn £28m more than Cristiano Ronaldo this season as Jose Mourinho and Co’s wages emerge
Barcelona genius Messi tops pile after signing a £500,000-a-week deal last November
Sponsored by
LIONEL MESSI is set to earn a staggering £28million more than Cristiano Ronaldo this season.
France Football have revealed a list of the five highest-paid players and managers for this season based on gross wages, bonuses and sponsorship deals.
And Barcelona genius Messi tops the pile after signing a £500,000-a-week deal last November.
The publication estimates that Messi will earn an incredible £110m before tax in the 2017-18 season.
Incredibly that figure is almost 50 per cent more than Ronaldo earned last year when the Real Madrid star topped the list of earners by raking in 87.5m euros - an amount worth £76.5m today.
It will be the first time that a footballer has broken the £100m barrier for earnings in a year.
HIGHEST PAID PLAYERS 2017-18
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - £110m
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - £82m
3. Neymar (PSG) - £71m
4. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) - £39m
5. Gerard Pique (Barcelona) - £25m
Neymar smashed the world transfer record when he completed a £198m move from Barca to Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
And the Brazilian, who is said to be agitating for a move away from PSG, is poised to earn £71m this campaign.
MOST READ IN FOOTBALL
Fourth on the list in Gareth Bale, who faces an uncertain future at Real but will be happy enough to have earned £39m.
Spain and Barca' Gerard Pique is the fifth best-paid player on the planet and is due to earn £25m this year.
HIGHEST-PAID MANAGERS 2017-18
1. Jose Mourinho (Man Utd) - £23m
2. Marcello Lippi (China) - £20m
3. Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid) - £19m
4. Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) - £18m
5. Pep Guardiola (Man City) - £17.5m
Man City boss Pep Guardiola is set to earn £5.5m less than Jose Mourinho this seasonGerard Pique accused Jose Mourinho of "destroying Spanish football" during the Special One's time in charge of Real, and the defender will no doubt be pleased he's earning more than the Portuguese.
But Manchester United's boss should still earn more than any other manager this season with an estimated £23m in revenue.
That's £5.5m more than Pep Guardiola, whose Manchester City side are confirmed as champions and sit 16 points ahead of Mourinho's United.
Marcelo Lippi is expected to earn £20m from his role in charge of the Chinese national team.