Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's first salary statements from Sporting CP and Barcelona have been revealed.
Messi and Ronaldo have been the world's most renowned, successful, and consequently, well-compensated footballers over the past 15 years.
The two footballing icons, who have collectively earned 13 Ballon d'Ors (eight for Messi and five for Ronaldo), are no longer pursuing their careers in Europe. Ronaldo is among several players who have transferred to the Saudi Pro League with Al Nassr, while Messi joined Inter Miami last summer.
Forbes reported that Ronaldo's three-year contract at Al Nassr is valued at over €200 million (£172 million).
Meanwhile, Spanish publication Marca has reported that Messi earns approximately £43 million annually in Miami. This income comfortably positions the Argentine star as the highest-paid player in the MLS, surpassing Xherdan Shaqiri of the Chicago Fire, who earns £6.5 million per year.
Messi and Ronaldo have spent decades elevating their statuses to the point where they can command such salaries.
Of course, both were once on more humble wages when breaking into the game.
According to El Futbolero, Messi earned just €600 (£516) a month as a youth player at Barcelona, which amounts to just over £6000 per annum.
His wage skyrocketed to €3 million a year (£2.6 million), however, once the Argentina star signed his first professional deal with the Catalan giants.
The publication further added that Ronaldo was earning €1 million (£860,000) annually when he inked his initial professional contract with Sporting.
Upon securing a transfer to Manchester United in 2003, Dispensable Soccer has claimed that the Portuguese star's salary more than doubled to £35,000 per week, equivalent to £1.82 million per year.
Since then, both players have witnessed a continual increase in their earnings, to the extent that Forbes reported Ronaldo's net worth as $136 million (£107 million) and Messi's as $130 million (£102 million).
Messi and Ronaldo are set to face each other, potentially for the last time ever, as Al Nassr and Inter Miami are scheduled to play on February 1 in Riyadh.
