Soccer’s top earner isn’t suiting up, but five other stars kicking off the tournament this month made a combined $381 million over the past year, led by Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi has won 46 trophies in his career, more than any soccer player ever to lace up a pair of cleats. The odds that he adds another at the FIFA Club World Cup are long—as the tournament begins Saturday, his Inter Miami squad is listed at 65-to-1 to win it all—but regardless of what happens on the pitch, there’s one title the 37-year-old Argentine superstar has locked down.
With $135 million in estimated earnings over the past 12 months (before taxes and agents’ fees), Messi is the highest-paid player suiting up at the Club World Cup. His total includes $60 million on the field, from his playing salary and bonuses, as well as $75 million from endorsements, appearances and other business endeavors.
Messi will be joined at the event by other top earners including Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé, with $90 million in estimated earnings; Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, at $62 million; Mbappé’s Madrid teammate Vinicius Jr., a forward pulling in $55 million; and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, at $39 million.
Together, the five players enter the Club World Cup having earned an estimated $381 million over the past year.
The confluence of top-earning talent is a direct result of FIFA’s new format for the tournament, which opens on June 14 with Messi’s Inter Miami facing off with Egyptian Premier League club Al Ahly. In years past, the Club World Cup was played on an annual basis and featured seven teams. Now, FIFA has expanded the field to 32 clubs, and the tournament will be held every four years, like its international World Cup counterpart.
FIFA has also dialed up the prize money, to $1 billion, with $125 million on offer for the winning team—eye-popping increases from the total pot of $16 million and winner’s share of $5 million the last time the tournament was contested, in 2023. Yet not all of that money is bound for players’ pockets.
For instance, under MLS’s collective bargaining agreement, the league’s players receive only 50% of the money from outside tournaments, capped at $1 million per team. The MLS Players Association has demanded a larger percentage for the Club World Cup, and Seattle Sounders FC players have publicly protested the situation, but with the event about to begin, no revision to the agreement has been announced. Meanwhile, Real Madrid has pledged to pay each of its players €1 million ($1.1 million) if they win the title, according to Spanish newspaper Marca.
Players are also not thrilled about the added games in an already-crowded calendar. While acknowledging that clubs might need more money to cover rising player salaries, Kane said in March that there is “a player welfare point where there’s only so much you can do without more injuries and more situations like that. I don’t think the players are listened to that much, if I’m totally honest, but everyone wants their piece, their tournament, their prize, and the players are the people who have to get on with it.”
Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who collected an estimated $39 million over the past year, would have matched Kane on the list of the Club World Cup’s top earners if he were at the tournament with Manchester City, his home for the last 10 seasons. Instead, he joined Napoli on a free transfer on Thursday—but the 33-year-old Belgian had already made clear he didn’t plan to participate in the event. Amid speculation about his next destination, De Bruyne noted recently: “I have to take care of myself because if I get injured in the Club World Cup, what am I going to do? Nobody’s going to take care of me at that point.”
Among the other big names missing from the event will be Mohamed Salah, who earned an estimated $53 million but saw Liverpool fall short of qualification because FIFA’s criteria favored Manchester City and Chelsea as England’s two representatives, and Neymar, who hauled in $76 million. In his case, the 33-year-old Brazilian would have had a place at the tournament if he had not agreed to terminate his contract with the Saudi Pro League’s Al Hilal in January. (That team will be competing while Neymar’s new squad, Brazil’s Santos, will not.)
The most notable absence, however, will be Cristiano Ronaldo, the world’s highest-paid athlete from any sport, with total estimated earnings of $275 million over the past year. The 40-year-old Portuguese forward’s club, Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, failed to qualify, but his contract is set to expire this month, which led to speculation that he could join one of the participating teams, perhaps on a short-term deal. Even FIFA president Gianni Infantino raised the possibility last month.
But Ronaldo himself shut down that notion last week, saying: “I will not be at the Club World Cup. Some teams reached out to me. Some made sense, and others did not, but you can’t try and do everything. You can’t catch every ball.” Then, on Sunday, he suggested he would remain at Al Nassr, telling reporters that “nothing will change.”
As for the stars who will be on the field, here are the five highest-paid players at the FIFA Club World Cup.
#1. $135 million
Lionel Messi
Age: 37 | Club: Inter Miami | Nationality: Argentina | On-Field: $60 million • Off-Field: $75 million
Rich Storry/Getty Images
Since joining Inter Miami in 2023, Messi has transformed its business, pushing the club’s valuation up to $1.2 billion, the second-best mark in MLS. But his future in South Florida has been murky, with his contract set to expire at the end of 2025. He has reportedly been negotiating an extension with the club, but regardless of where he decides to wrap up his extraordinary career, Messi, who turns 38 this month, will remain a marketing force. He was one of only four stars on Forbes’ 2025 list of the world’s highest-paid athletes to earn at least $75 million off the field, and his lucrative partnerships include Adidas, Lay’s and Mastercard.
#2. $90 million
Kylian Mbappé
Age: 26 | Club: Real Madrid | Nationality: France | On-Field: $70 million • Off-Field: $20 million
Angel Martinez/Getty Images
Mbappé shook up the soccer landscape when he fulfilled a lifelong dream by signing with Real Madrid last June. He went on to score 42 goals in all competitions this season, but Los Blancos had a somewhat disappointing year, losing out on the La Liga title to rival Barcelona and exiting the UEFA Champions League in the quarterfinals against Arsenal. To make matters worse, Paris Saint-Germain, the club Mbappé left for Madrid, hoisted the UEFA Champions League trophy last month. In international competition for France, however, Mbappé scored a major milestone by becoming the third player with 50 goals for Les Bleus, after Olivier Giroud and Thierry Henry.
#3. $62 million
Erling Haaland
Age: 24 | Club: Manchester City | Nationality: Norway | On-Field: $48 million • Off-Field: $14 million
Jacques Feeney/Offside/Getty Images
For the first time in his three seasons with Manchester City, Haaland did not lead the Premier League in goals scored in 2024-25, coming up seven goals short of Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s 29. Yet that dip in production, from 27 goals in 2023-24 and 36 in 2022-23, didn’t stop Haaland from cashing in on his success in England. In January, the 24-year-old Norwegian signed the longest contract in Premier League history, a nine-and-a-half-year extension that ties him to Manchester City until 2034 and eclipses the nine-year pact Cole Palmer signed with Chelsea last year. Off the pitch, Haaland works with Nike, Clear and Beats by Dre, among other sponsors.
#4. $55 million
Vinicius Jr.
Age: 24 | Club: Real Madrid | Nationality: Brazil | On-Field: $40 million • Off-Field: $15 million
Karim Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images
The reigning FIFA Men’s Player of the Year, Vinicius Jr. cemented his superstar status this season by topping 20 goals in all competitions for the fourth consecutive campaign. The 24-year-old Brazilian’s knack for putting the ball in the net hasn’t yet translated to the international level, with Vini posting only seven goals in 41 appearances for his country, but his popularity in South America is rapidly growing. His endorsement portfolio now includes brands like Gatorade, Pepsi and Tourism for Dubai.
#5. $39 million
Harry Kane
Age: 31 | Club: Bayern Munich | Nationality: England | On-Field: $29 million • Off-Field: $10 million
Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Ciancaphoto Studio/Getty Images
Kane has been a prolific striker, netting 366 goals in all club competitions and another 73 on the international stage. Still, the 31-year-old Englishman had gone his entire professional career without hoisting a single major trophy until Bayern Munich claimed the Bundesliga title this season, Kane’s second with the club after a long stretch with Tottenham Hotspur. Off the pitch, he is the face of Skechers’ soccer division.
METHODOLOGY
The Forbes ranking of the highest-paid soccer players at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup includes on-field earnings estimates for the 2024-25 season, including base salaries, bonuses and, in some cases, club-based image rights agreements. (For Lionel Messi, who plays on MLS’s calendar-year schedule, the earnings figure reflects his 2024 compensation.)
Off-field estimates reflect annual cash from endorsements, licensing, appearances and memorabilia, as well as businesses operated by the players. In Messi’s case, league sponsors are believed to subsidize his contract, and that value is accounted for in the on-field estimate.
The figures are derived from publicly available databases, including Capology.com, and from conversations with industry insiders. Most asked to remain anonymous, but Forbes would like to acknowledge soccer correspondent Tancredi Palmeri, DODICI Sports Management’s Mariano Trasande and Xeric Sports Management’s Shea Richard Soma.
All figures are converted to U.S. dollars using the current exchange rate and are rounded to the nearest $1 million. Forbes does not include investment income such as interest payments or dividends but does account for payouts from equity stakes athletes have sold. Forbes does not deduct taxes or agents’ fees. Transfer fees are excluded.
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