WITH the FIFA World Cup 2022 fast approaching, each national team is scouting highly skilled players at the top of their game. But top talent comes at a cost, the wages of the world’s top soccer players are at an all-time high.

To satisfy our curiosity over who is paid the most in 2022, Voetbal Travel analysed salaries of over 32,000 active soccer players from 200+ countries, mapping each nation’s highest-paid soccer star!

France has the highest-paid soccer player in the world with Kylian Mbappe earning over $88 million a year. Argentina is second, with Lionel Messi ($59m), and Brazil is third with Neymar ($50m).

Earning nearly $21m annually, Senegal’s Sadio Mané ranked as the highest-paid soccer player in Africa.

The top 10 list on the continent also includes Muhammad Salah of Egypt, Emmanuel Adebayor from Nigeria, Gabon’s Pierre Emrick Aubameyang, Victor Moses of Nigeria, Asamoah Gyan from Ghana, Kevin Prince Boateng of Ghana, Nigeria’s Odion Ighalo and Riyad Mahrez from Algeria

The 37-year-old Christiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid soccer player in Portugal while Eden Hazard is the highest earner in Belgium. Together with Mbappé, they are the top 3 highest paid footballers in Europe.

South Korean superstar Heung-Min Son is the highest paid in the country and in Asia. Paris Saint-Germain hosts the most affluent stars in six nations, followed by Napoli, Liverpool, and Barcelona with four.

The English Premier League is home to the country’s best-paid stars (24).

Voetbal Travel can reveal that in first place is France. Their highest-paid player Kylian Mbappé is earning $88,359,383 a year, making him the highest-paid soccer player in the world! It is not surprising to see this PSG superstar topping the list after signing a record-breaking lucrative contract this summer. Will Kylian Mbappé surprise the world with his talents again and help France break the World Cup champion’s curse in 2022?

In second place is Argentina, with Lionel Messi earning $58,782,360 annually and over $1m weekly! Despite being an older player, Messi is still the star for both his club and his national team. Having lifted Copa America Cup with his team in 2021 and awarded Golden Boot as the top scorer, Messi will once again captain Argentina in Qatar 2022 which is likely to be his last chance to win the World Cup.

Ranking third is another South American country Brazil, with Neymar earning $50,494,047 per year. Debuting for the Brazil national team at only 18, Neymar has capped 119 times and scored 74 goals for his home country.

The 37-year-old Christiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid soccer player in Portugal with a salary of $30,295,524 and Belgium’s current highest-paid player is Real Madrid’s midfielder Eden Hazard ($29,391,180).

With PSG teammates Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi being the world’s top two highest-paid soccer players, they ranked as the highest-paid players respectively for Europe and South America.

Considered one of the greatest African players of all time, Senegal’s all-time top goalscorer Sadio Mané is the highest-earning player in Africa! Transferred from Liverpool FC to Bayern Munich in the latest window, his new contract promises an annual salary of $21,382,762.