Ranked: Lionel Messi leads Cristiano Ronaldo as world's highest earning footballer in 2020 - in pictures

PSG forward Neymar completes the top three of Forbes' 2020 list

10) David de Gea (Manchester United and Spain) $27m (Dh99.1m). Reuters

9) Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich and Poland) $28m. Reuters

8) Gareth Bale (Real Madrid and Wales) $29m. PA

7) Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona and France) $33m.

6) Paul Pogba (Manchester United and France) $34m. Reuters

5) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt) $37m. EPA

4) Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain and France) $42m. AFP

3) Neymar (Paris St-Germain and Brazil) $96m. Reuters

2) Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus and Portugal) $117m. AFP

1) Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina) $126m. EPA

It has been a tough few weeks for Lionel Messi, but the Barcelona star can at least console himself with having made the Forbes 2020 list of highest earning footballers.

In 2019, Messi came out on top of the rich list, beating old rival Cristiano Ronaldo into second place, with former Barca teammate Neymar third.

It looked like English Premier League side Manchester City were set to take over paying the Argentine's wages for the new season when he demanded a move away from Camp Nou.

But Messi reluctantly decided to remain in Catalonia saying that he did not "want to start a legal war" with the club he has spent his entire career with.

According to the Forbes list, the top ten players in the world are expected to pull in $570 million (more than Dh2 billion) in salary, bonuses and endorsements this upcoming season.

To compile the list, Forbes spoke with clubs, players’ agents, commercial sponsors and football experts in the US and Europe.

To find out who else has made the top 10 and in what order, make your way through the picture gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.