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Paris Sain-Germain star striker Kylian Mbappe is regarded as one of the best players in the world. The 23-year-old French striker has been receiving a lot of lavishing praise from some former footballers and pundits and the young prodigy has also established himself as one of the best in the world.
Having already pocketed some of the biggest endorsements the game of football serves, Kylian Mbappe has now added yet another feather to his already glorious cap. While Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina's legend Lionel Messi started earning more than $100 million annual earnings for the first time when they were in their 30s, Mbappe has achieved the milestone at the age of 23 years, becoming the world's highest-paid footballer player.
As per reports, Mbappe has overtaken Messi and Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo in the Forbes list for the highest-earning footballers. In the last nine years, this is the first such occasion when any footballer has leapfrogged the legendary duo.
The last player to top the list other than Ronaldo or Messi was former England skipper David Beckham in 2013. According to Forbes, Mbappe will collect roughly $110 million between his salary and a share of his signing bonus for the season. That is in addition to the estimated $18 million in annual endorsements Mbappé earns from a stable of partners that include Nike, Dior, Hublot, Oakley and Panini.
Mbappe recently appeared on the cover of EA Sports' FIFA video game for the third consecutive year; found his own production company, Zebra Valley; and joined the fantasy NFT platform Sorare as both an ambassador and an investor. However, as per the sports economist at the University College of Northern Denmark, Kenneth Corsten, Erling Haaland is another prolific player who can achieve similar stardom very soon.
"There is always another sports star around the corner, and when some existing heroes fade, new heroes arise. There is no doubt that the names Mbappe, and Haaland will be on the minds of sports fans and consumers," said Corsten.
The Forbes List is as follows-: Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi [$120 mil], Cristiano Ronaldo [ $100 mil], Neymar Jr. [$87 mil], Mohamed Salah [$53 mil], Erling Haaland [$39 mil], Robert Lewandowski [$35 mil], Eden Hazard [$31 mil], Andrés Iniesta [#30 mil], and Kevin De Bruyne [$29 mil].
