With £214 million in wages, Ronaldo beat Messi and others to be the world’s richest footballer

 Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid player in the world in 2023, according to Forbes.

The Portugal forward is earning an estimated £214million-a-year.

Ronaldo is one of four Saudi Pro League stars to feature in the top 10.

Meanwhile, Erling Haaland is the Premier League's highest earner ahead of Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah.

Forbes estimates that

Ronaldo is paid around £ 164 million by Al-Nassr for his on-field duties.

The 38-year-old then earns an additional £49million for off-field ventures.

These include recent video appearances to promote Saudi Arabia's National Day and the fight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou in Riyadh.

Neymar, Karim Benzema, and Sadio Mane are the other Saudi-based players to appear in the top 10 in third, fifth, and eighth respectively.

Lionel Messi ranks in second place but is some way behind Ronaldo with earnings of £111million.

His former team-mate Neymar is just behind on £92million, edging out Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe.

As for the Premier League, Haaland is sixth with an estimated £48million in earnings.

He places ahead of Salah, who makes a reported £44million from both playing and endorsements.

Further down the list, Kevin De Bruyne has estimated earnings of £32million, thanks in part to a big money deal with McDonald's in his native Belgium.

England captain Harry Kane completes the top 10 following his move to Bayern Munich.

His £ 30 million earnings were boosted by a multi-year deal with online retail firm Fanatics, which he signed earlier this year.