Khaberni - The legendary trio David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi have monopolized the list of the world's highest-paid players since 2004, according to the famous American Forbes magazine.
Beckham (50 years old) leveraged his overwhelming popularity as a beloved player to top the list of the world's highest-paid players for 10 consecutive years.
List of the Highest Paid Players in the Last 20 Years
Beckham, the former star of Manchester United who played for major clubs such as Real Madrid and Milan before retiring with Paris Saint-Germain in 2013, maintained the top spot on the list from 2004 until 2013.
The year 2008 was the highest paying for Beckham, when he played in the ranks of Los Angeles Galaxy, where his annual salary reached $50 million.
In 2014, Ronaldo - the former player of Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus - broke Beckham's monopoly and took over the top spot on the list of the world's highest-paid players for 4 consecutive years.
In 2018, Messi, the legend of Barcelona and the former player of Paris Saint-Germain, knocked his rival Ronaldo off the top spot for two consecutive years, before the Portuguese star regained his status in 2020.
Between the years 2021 and 2025, Messi, the player of Inter Miami, and Ronaldo, the star of Al Nassr, shared the top spot on this list.
Ronaldo reached the highest annual salary ever for a football player, with his annual salary last year (2025) being $275 million.
Here is the list of the Highest Paid Players in the World Each Year Since 2004 in US Dollars:
2004: English David Beckham $28 million.
2005: English David Beckham $32.5 million.
2006: English David Beckham $30 million.
2007: English David Beckham $33 million.
2008: English David Beckham $50 million.
2009: English David Beckham $42 million.
2010: English David Beckham $43.7 million.
2011: English David Beckham $40 million.
2012: English David Beckham $46 million.
2013: English David Beckham $47.2 million.
2014: Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo $80 million.
2015: Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo $79.6 million.
2016: Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo $88 million.
2017: Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo $93 million.
2018: Argentinian Lionel Messi $111 million.
2019: Argentinian Lionel Messi $127 million.
2020: Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo $105 million.
2021: Argentinian Lionel Messi $130 million.
2022: Argentinian Lionel Messi $130 million.
2023: Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo $136 million.
2024: Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo $260 million.
2025: Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo $275 million.
