Cristiano Ronaldo Edges Lionel Messi As The World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Player – Forbes

Ronaldo or Messi? While the debate rages on about who is the better player, we can tell you who gets better paid.

For the second year in a row Cristiano Ronaldo ranks No. 1 on our list of the world’s highest paid soccer players. The 30-year old star of Real Madrid, the most valuable soccer team in the world worth $3.26 billion, banked $79 million last year in salary, bonus and endorsements – a sum that also makes him the highest-paid team athlete in the world.

It’s an astronomical reward for capturing his second straight and third overall FIFA player of the year trophy and becoming the most popular athlete in the world, according to social media. His 102 million Facebook fans and 35 million Twitter Twitter followers eclipse all other athletes. A commercial powerhouse, the Portuguese winger impresses in his long-term sponsor Nike’s boots on the pitch, and his signature CR7 line of underwear, shirts and shoes off it. Both helped contribute to the $27 million he earned in endorsements.

Lionel Messi, a record four-time winner of FIFA’s player of the year award, earned $70.5 million last year to come in at a respectable No. 2 on our list. The benefit of an ongoing rivalry with Ronaldo paid off well for him. After Real Madrid made Ronaldo the highest paid in Spain’s La Liga in 2013, a slow rumble of discontent from Messi over bonuses grew to reports of him wanting to leave Camp Nou, the club that groomed him since youth. Barca responded last May by giving their star his 7th contract since 2005 that rewards him with a $9 million a year raise and added performance incentives to match his nemesis’ salary through 2018.

If one of those incentives is most hat tricks scored, Messi cashed in on that. He’s done it 32 times, a Spanish club record. The 27-year old Argentine can add that to a host of records including most goals in Barca competitions, most goals in La Liga competitions, and most goals scored in a calendar year.

His superhuman talent is why sponsor Samsung cast him as superhero Iron Man in an advertisement for the Avengers film. It’s also why his main sponsor Adidas launched a Messi icon line of shoes and apparel in 2013. The articles, designed in collaboration with him, have exceeded company expectations, including in the US, an Adidas spokesperson said. In return, Messi took home an estimated $10 million from the sportswear manufacture last year.

As with their performance on the pitch, Ronaldo and Messi are on a pay scale all their own. The next highest paid, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, made $41.8 million last year to rank No. 3. His sponsorship with Nike has lapsed and his playing career with Paris Saint-Germain has one more season. If his application for a long-term US Visa last month is any indication, he may be Major League Soccer-bound. Based on the $7.1 million salary of Orlando City SC’s Kaka, a former FIFA player of the year and now MLS’ highest paid player, Ibrahimovic could expect his gross salary in the US to be half his after-tax pay in the French capital, further distancing himself from the top of the sport’s best paid.

James Rodriguez made $25.4 million last year and debuts on our list at No. 8. Even though his Colombian squad lost in the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup, the 23-year old striker had a breakout performance. He landed the tournament’s Golden Boot award given to its best player for scoring a tournament-high 6 goals. He followed that by signing a 6-year $100 million contract with Real Madrid in July where he was immediately pegged as a young Ronaldo. It was easy to see why when shortly after he posed in his new line of J10 underwear created by newest sponsor Bronzini Black. Adidas recently re-signed him to a long-term contract as one of their key global soccer ambassadors, a company spokesperson said.

The most notorious soccer player in the news last year, Luis Suarez, rounds out our top 10 highest paid soccer players. The Uruguayan national bit Italian opponent Giorgio Chiellini in the World Cup last June, his career third biting incident, and was kicked out of the tournament and banned from play for 4 months. But his biggest sponsor, Adidas, stuck by him. Barcelona then signed him on a $17 million playing contract that, contrary to popular belief, does not contain a ‘no bite’ clause. The 28-year old striker earned $19.9 million in salary, bonus and endorsements last year.

Full Coverage: The Business of Soccer

Manchester City has the highest average salary per player ($8.1 million) of any professional sports team in the world per the latest Sportingintelligence’s Global Sports Salaries Survey, and has four players in our top 20, the most of any club. Sergio Aguero ranked the highest at No. 9 with total earnings of $25.3. Last August he signed a contract extension to stay with The Sky Blues through 2019 that helped contribute to the $18 million in salary and bonus he banked in 2014.

The English Premier League on a whole has the highest average pay per player ($3.4 million) among all soccer leagues according to the same Sportingintelligence GSSS. No surprise then that half of our list is comprised of that league’s players. Manchester United’s Radamel Falcao is the highest paid among them and ranks No. 6 on our list. Of the $31 million he earned last year, $27 million came in the form of salary and bonus. Not all was from Man U. In September 2014 he agreed to a season-long loan to the club from previous club, AS Monaco. The move is expected to be made permanent this summer with Man U paying him an estimated $22.7 million a year.

That will give him the slight advantage over teammate and No. 7 on our list, Wayne Rooney. Of the $25.8 million he made in 2014, $19 million was in salary and bonus. He’s on salary of $21 million this 2014/15 campaign.

Methodology. To compile the list of the world’s highest paid we combed through team filings and spoke with players’ agent, talent agencies, commercial sponsors and soccer experts in the U.S. and Europe. Figures are in US $ and include soccer salaries, bonuses, and endorsements earned for the 2014 calendar year. Transfer fees are excluded.

Full Coverage: The Business Of Soccer 

Follow me on Twitter.