Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi still remains the world's highest earning footballer with an annual income of 74 million euros, according to a leading French football-based magazine.
The Argentine international pipped Cristiano Ronaldo (67.4m euros) by grossing nine more million euros last year, news.com.au reported.
Meanwhile, Brazilian star Neymar was third in the list as the top three stayed unchanged for the third year running.
The calculations were based on players' pre-tax salaries, sponsorship revenues and various bonuses.