Cape Town - After securing a sensational transfer to Juventus from Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo has jumped up the list of the top 10 highest paid players at the 2018 Soccer World Cup.
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Ronaldo left Spain to join Italian champions Juventus in a four-year deal for €100 million that will see his salary rise to an astonishing £500 000 per week.
This eye-watering amount though is still not enough to clinch the top spot on the highest earners list in world football with the 33-year-old lying in third spot.
Lionel Messi holds top spot with £40.1 million (R709 million) after recently signing a renewed contract at Barcelona with Brazilian forward Neymar in second position on £31.7 million (R555 million) ahead of Ronaldo on 26.6 million (R465 million) after securing a world record move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Top 10 highest earners at the World Cup:
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) R709 million (R13.6 million-a-week)
2. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) R555 million (R10.6 million-a-week)
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) R465 million (R8.9 million-a-week)
4. Alexis Sanchez (Manchester United) R410 million (R7.8 million-a-week)
5. Oscar (Shanghai SIPG) R370 million (R7.1 million-a-week)
6. Ezequiel Lavezzi (Hebei Fortune) R355 million (R6.8 million-a-week)
7. Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) R320 million (R6.1 million-a-week)
8. Hulk (Shanghai SIPG) R308 million (R5.9 million-a-week)
9. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) R280 million (R5.3 million-a-week)
10. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) R270 million (R5.1 million-a-week)