New york: Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who currently plays for Saudi Arabian football club Al Nassr, topped Forbes Magazine's rankings of the world's highest paid football players in 2024. "The Portuguese superstar, who leads the list for the sixth time in the last decade, is projected to earn USD220 million on the field this season, a sum that is believed to include financial incentives from commercial agreements facilitated by his club on top of his playing wages," the respected business magazine said in its article. "His USD285 million total -- including an estimated USD65 million off the field -- is a record in soccer, beating the USD260 million he posted on the 2023 list," the article reads. Second on the Forbes list was Argentina's Lionel Messi, who is currently playing for the Inter Miami football club in the United States (Major Soccer League). "Messi lands at No. 2 overall with an estimated USD135 million before taxes and agent fees -- including USD75 million off the field, the best mark in the sport -- but for the second consecutive year, he trails his rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who opened the Saudi floodgates when he joined Al Nassr in January 2023," according to Forbes. Rounding out the top three was Brazilian forward Neymar from Saudi football club Al Hilal earning USD80 million on-field and USD30 million off-field. The rest of the Top-10, according to Forbes, are: 4th French Karim Benzema from Saudi Arabian FC Al Ittihad (USD104 million in total; USD100 million in on-field plus USD4 million in off-field); 5th French striker Kylian Mbappe from Spanish FC Real Madrid (USD90 million in total; USD70+20 million); 6th Norway's Erling Haaland from England's Manchester City (USD60 million in total; USD46+14 million); 7th Brazil's Vinicius from Spanish Real Madrid FC (USD55 million in total; USD40+15 million); 8th Egypt's Mohamed Salah from England's Liverpool FC (USD53 million in total; USD35+18 million); 9th Senegal's Sadio Mane from Saudi FC Al Nassr (USD52 million in total; USD48+4 million); 10th Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne from England's Manchester City FC (USD39 million in total; USD35+4 million). Source: Philippines News agency