Messi, the world's highest paid footballer

Lionel Messi is the highest paid player in the world after banking nearly £1million a week last year.

France Football’s annual survey of wages reckons the Barcelona star earns over £26m in his basic salary before bonuses.

And the Argentine earns almost double again in commercial deals with blue-chip sponsors like adidas, FIFA 15 and Turkish Airline to take his total annual income to £47.8m.

Cristiano Ronaldo is second with earnings on £39.7m with Neymar completing the top three of Spanish-based players on £26.8m.

The highest ranked player in the Premier League is Robin Van Persie in fifth place, who had a basic salary of £11.8m with bonuses of £5m.