Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar the world's best-paid footballers, study claims

In this file photo taken on May 06, 2018, A general view shows the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on May 6, 2018. - Spanish league asks on October 16, 2019, for El Clasico to be switched to Madrid over Catalan protests. (Photo by Pau Barrena / AFP)

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar remain the three best-paid footballers in the world, according to a study by France Football magazine.

The study estimates the income of the world's highest-paid players by adding their estimated gross salaries and income from image rights to bonuses earned last season.

As a result, the publication calculates Barcelona star Messi's total annual income as 131 million euros ($141 million).

Soccer Football - La Liga Santander - FC Barcelona v Levante - Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain - February 2, 2020, Barcelona's Lionel Messi [REUTERS/Albert Gea]

That puts the Argentine ahead of Ronaldo, with the Portuguese forward second on the list with 118 million euros of estimated income.

Soccer Football - Coppa Italia Semi-Final First Leg - AC Milan v Juventus - San Siro, Milan, Italy - February 13, 2020 Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo reacts [REUTERS/Alberto Lingria]

Paris Saint-Germain's Brazil star Neymar, who moved to France from Barcelona for a world-record transfer fee in 2017, is third on the list with total pay of 95 million euros, way ahead of Real Madrid's Gareth Bale.

The Welshman is fourth on the list with 38.7 million euros.

Soccer Football - Champions League - Group A - Paris St Germain v Galatasaray - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - December 11, 2019 Paris St Germain's Neymar reacts [REUTERS/Benoit Tessier]

Meanwhile, according to the magazine, Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone is the best-paid coach with total wages of 40.5 million euros, way ahead of Antonio Conte at Inter Milan on 30 million euros and Pep Guardiola at Manchester City on 27 million euros.

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