Being a professional footballer can be adventurous and lucrative. But it is a career that requires total dedication to football. This means you have to love the game and know its history.
And with talent, hard work and luck, you may find yourself playing for the world’s biggest clubs.
The 2022 Fifa World Cup is in full swing in Qatar, with millions watching each of the high-stakes matches. Another draw is the large number of high-paid football players competing for their countries.
According to Forbes, the top five World Cup earners will bring in a combined $452 million (R7.7 billion) in 2022, among which $173m will be generated off the field.
Here are the players who are expected to earns billions in this 2022-2023 season:
Kylian Mbappe
You should always focus on training and consider it a step forward. And each step is taking you higher and higher until you reach the top, which is where you should stay.
Only 23-years old, Mbappe is leading the pack. The French player will earn about $128m according to Forbes. This is in addition to the already enormous $110m he will get from football club Paris Saint-Germain.
A household name, Mbappe is also expected to earn $18m in numerous endorsements.
Lionel Messi
You have to fight to achieve your dreams. You have to sacrifice and work hard for them
A football legend, Messi, 35, joined Barcelona at the tender age of 13 and made his competitive debut when he was just 17-years old.
Messi is expected to make $120m in total, including endorsements.
Cristiano Ronaldo
I see myself as the best footballer in the world. If you don’t believe you are the best, then you will never achieve all that you are capable of.
Often named as the GOAT (greatest of the all time) among the greats such as Messi, Ronaldo is a football icon.
He is projected to make a total of $100m, including $40m on the field and $60m off it.
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior
When we lose, we don’t have to change everything but correct things by working hard.
Best known as Neymar Jr, the Brazilian is a football legend is his own right. He will make an estimated $87m in total, with $55m on the field and $32m in endorsements.
Robert Lewandowski
When I was a young player, I never dreamed of scoring five goals in a game – and in minutes is something else. And, when it happened, it was incredible that there could ever be anything like that in the history of the game. It took me a couple of days to realise what I’d done.
Lewandowski, 34, who is from Poland, will make $35m in total – $27m from playing and $8m from deals and endorsements.
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