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The story
Forbes magazine’s “World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players” ranking has named Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo No. 1, with an annual income of roughly ¥47.6 billion — about double that of Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi. The thread ranged widely, touching on comparisons to Shohei Ohtani’s salary, the comparatively low pay of Japanese players like Kaoru Mitoma and Daichi Kamada, opinions on the Saudi league’s standing, and whether European soccer salary figures are quoted before or after tax.
Forbes’ estimate
The ranking of soccer’s top earners has been released, with Al-Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo topping the list at roughly £225 million (about ¥47.6 billion) a year. According to Forbes’ estimate, Ronaldo’s earnings come in at about double those of his rival, Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo’s income reportedly breaks down into an annual salary of about £187 million (about ¥39.6 billion) from Al-Nassr, plus roughly £37 million (about ¥7.8 billion) in commercial income from sponsorships and the like.
Source: theworldmagazine.jp / Original article here
What people said
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Even Ronaldo can't hold a candle to Ohtani
What kind of math gets you there?
in both income and how long you can keep playing
doesn't come anywhere close to Ronaldo
I'd love to casually say,
'oh yeah, my annual salary's about 50 billion yen'
I heard Ronaldo spends something like 10 million yen a week just on rent and security
500 million would be gone in a year
If you actually think gaming forever sounds fun, you're gonna have a hard time making 500 million
Don't go calling Japanese soccer players scrubs
only 700 million, how pathetic lol
and that's apparently the Japanese record lol ww
There are four guys over 1 billion yen — Kamada, Doan, Hiroki Ito, and Kubo, old man
Isn't the Saudi league just a fifth-rate league with empty stands?
Lmao you're tripping over a money conversation
Apparently Mitoma's 700 million is the top
Where does that put him globally?
He's never actually made 700 million to begin with
He wasn't even on the Japanese athlete earnings rankings
The highest-paid Japanese soccer player
is Kamada at ¥1.1 billion 😭
less than half of Murakami or Okamoto 😭
That's baseless fantasy too
he's never been on the Japanese athlete earnings rankings either
It's often said EU figures are pre-tax, Saudi and Qatar have no income tax at all, and the US and Japan quote after-tax amounts
Funny how this is basically 'wait, who's even #1 again?' territory
Ohtani's insane — the only one from baseball, and that figure even includes off-field contracts
Re: #65
I heard at least France and Spain quote figures after withholding tax, while Japanese players outside the EU need complicated recalculations every time their contract renews
Mahomes is surprisingly low
Apparently it's a myth that Europe is pre-tax
just a cope lie soccer fans tell themselves about low salaries
Most of that roughly 10 billion yen salary is deferred, so he's only actually taking home about 300 million yen upfront — meaning he's pulling in something like 10 billion yen from sponsorships alone
Unheard of for a Japanese athlete
No wonder he's won AL MVP four times in MLB
Man, I wish a Japanese soccer player would come along and win the Ballon d'Or three times or so
Realistically, in our lifetimes, a World Cup win and a men's Ballon d'Or are probably less likely than Mt. Fuji erupting or a direct hit earthquake on Tokyo
Wait, he's already at 20 billion yen?
Including the deferred salary, that's almost 30 billion
Background and talking points
Forbes’ estimate combines base salary with commercial income like sponsorships, so a straightforward comparison across countries with different tax systems only goes so far. Sure enough, the thread was split over whether European salary figures are quoted pre-tax or post-tax, with posters noting how hard it is to compare against countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar that have no income tax at all. It’s also worth flagging that the figures cited for Japanese players like Mitoma and Kamada are unverified claims from an anonymous message board, not official numbers. Opinions on the Saudi league were likewise split, with some dismissing it over sparse attendance and others pointing to the high salaries as a sign of its growing stature — no clear consensus emerged.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports Breaking News+) thread “[Soccer] World’s highest-paid athlete rankings revealed — C. Ronaldo earns double Messi, and Yamal cracks the top 10 in his teens.”
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