​This summer represented a bit of a changing of the guard on the soccer pitch, as exemplified by Spain’s winger Lamine Yamal, who hoisted the World Cup trophy at age 19 by beating Argentine legend Lionel Messi—the very man who had bathed him when he was an infant for a now-viral photoshoot in 2007.But while Yamal is already reaping the rewards of his star turn on American soil, he and the rest of soccer’s new generation still have a long way to go to close the financial gap on Messi and his Portuguese rival Cristiano Ronaldo, two of the greatest money-making machines the sports world has ever seen.For the fourth consecutive season, and the 12th time in the last 13 years, Ronaldo and Messi are the world’s two highest-paid soccer players, due to haul in $300 million and $145 million, respectively, according to Forbes estimates. (French striker Kylian Mbappé, who lands at No. 3 on Forbes’ list of the top-earning soccer players this year with an estimated $100 million, made a cameo at No. 1 in 2022 thanks to a massive signing bonus he received when he extended his contract with Paris Saint-Germain, two years before he left the club for Real Madrid.)Ronaldo, who already became the first active athlete to surpass $2 billion in career pretax income earlier this year, is set to haul in an estimated $250 million from his Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr during the 2026-27 season and another $50 million from his endorsements and other business ventures. Messi, meanwhile, is in line to cross the $2 billion earnings threshold over the next year thanks to the estimated $70 million he collects playing for MLS’s Inter Miami as well as $75 million from his endeavors off the field.forbesThe financial figures are before taxes and agents’ fees, but Forbes estimates that both Messi and Ronaldo have accumulated enough cash to become billionaires.The two icons are responsible for almost half of the $942 million that soccer’s ten highest-paid players are collectively expected to make this season—a total that is slightly down from 2025’s $945 million even though most of the nine players returning from that list are making more than they did a year ago.The primary culprit is the one absence from last year’s group: Karim Benzema, who made an estimated $104 million last year but, after transferring midseason within the Saudi Pro League from Al Ittihad to Al Hilal, agreed to terminate his contract in August and is currently a free agent. Stepping into his place among the top ten this year is Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, who qualifies for the ranking for the first time since 2023 with an estimated $42 million.Benzema’s departure means that the list now has only two players remaining from the Saudi Pro League—Ronaldo and his Al Nassr teammate Sadio Mané, No. 7 with an estimated $54 million as he enters the final year of his contract—and opens up room in the top five for Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. alongside Mbappé and Erling Haaland, the