Messi beats Ronaldo as the world’s richest player

Lionel Messi has been named as the richest player in world football – edging his long-standing rival Cristiano Ronaldo in the rankings.

France Football has compiled a list of the top 10 best-paid players in 2019, which predictably saw two of the game’s greatest-ever players sit first and second.

Messi made a staggering £120million last year, £11m more than Ronaldo who enjoyed his first full campaign at Juventus.

The pairs were also the only players to surpass the £100m mark. The figures are made up of wages, bonuses, endorsements, commercial revenue and other streams. Following on from the top two, the gap starts to widen.

PSG superstar Neymar collected £87m for his efforts last year while Real Madrid outcast Gareth Bale received £35.45m in what has been a dramatic fall from grace during his career at the Bernabeu. Bale narrowly pips Antoine Griezmann to fourth, with the Frenchman earning £200,000 less than the former Tottenham winger.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo has been ‘offered to Barcelona’ to set up Messi link-up.

According to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes has been touting his client to other clubs amid interest from PSG, with Barcelona also among those contacted.