10 highest paid footballers in the world in 2015

2) Lionel Messi (#4)

Messi played an important role in the treble winning campaign for Barcelona by scoring 60 goals

Earnings: $73.8m [Salary – $51.8m, Endorsements – $22m]

The four-time Ballon d’Or winner has been in stunning form this season and played a major role in winning the La Liga, Copa Del Rey and Champions League with Barcelona. He ended the season with a mind-boggling tally of 60 goals and 23 assists.

Messi remains on #4 place but his earnings has gone up from $64.7 million to $73.8 million. This increase is due to the new contract Messi signed at the beginning of the season which earns him £16.3m a season, plus performance-linked bonuses. Now he is tied with the club till June 2019.

Messi earns more than $20 million a year from sponsors including Adidas, Audemars Piguet, PepsiCo, Gillette,Turkish Airlines and Electronic Arts. Adidas released a limited edition commemorative Messi shoe after Messi broke Barcelona’s all-time scoring record in March and it sold out within an hour in the U.S.

Earlier this year, Messi also portrayed the role of Iron Man in Samsung ad campaigns to promote Avengers: Age of Ultron. He may not be as flamboyant as Cristiano Ronaldo, but his on-field performances and his quiet lifestyle make him trustworthy and a highly marketable figure. Transfermarkt values him at €120m.

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1) Cristiano Ronaldo (#3)

This is the fourth consecutive season that Ronaldo has scored 60 goals

Earnings: $79.6m [Salary – $52.6m, Endorsements – $27m]

The reigning FIFA Ballon D’Or holder dropped one place from second to third place. His team may not have won anything this season but on a personal he still delivered by scoring 60 and this is the fourth consecutive season that he has done so.

Ronaldo earns nearly $53M plus bonuses in a year at Real Madrid. The $24 million Ronaldo earned from his sponsors, which is more than any other footballer in the World, is due to his Nike deal which has provision for bonuses based on his performance.

His income from endorsements is already on the rise in 2014 with the addition of deals with watchmaker Tag Heuer and Emirates Airlines. He is also the world's most popular athlete, with 102 million fans on Facebook and 35 million Twitter followers. He has his own underwear and shirt line called CR7.