Lionel Messi tops Cristiano Ronaldo on highest-paid footballers list

What's the story?

French publication L'Equipe has released its list of the highest paid footballers and it was revealed that Barcelona ace Lionel Messi tops his on-field rival Cristiano Ronaldo on the list.

In case you didn't know...

The list is released by L'Equipe every year and consists of players from Europe's top five leagues: the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga.

This year, however, no player from the German top league made it into the top ten.

The heart of the matter

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi tops the list as the Argentine talisman earns a staggering £7.3 million ($9.5m) a month before tax. The Liga top-scorer is followed by fellow five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo who earns £4.1 million since joining Juventus last summer.

Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann completes the top three spots on the list, earning £2.9 million from his new deal at the club.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar Jr follows close behind at fourth place, earning £2.7 million a month at the Parc des Princes.

Luis Suarez is the second Barcelona star on the list. The Uruguayan sits at fifth place, earning £2.5 million at Camp Nou. He is followed by Welsh and Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale who makes £2.2 million at the Bernabeu.

Former Liverpool star and current Barcelona man Philippe Coutinho sits at seventh place with earnings worth £2 million.

The eighth spot is taken by Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez who also earns around £2 million at Old Trafford.

World Cup star Kylian Mbappe and Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil round up the top ten, earning £1.5 million and £1.4 million respectively.

Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski, however, missed out on the top ten with a £1.2 million salary.

What's next?

It is amazing to think how far football has come and the insane amounts players are paid compared to the previous generation. These numbers are only set to go higher as the game continues to develop.