Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi Lead Forbes' List of Highest-Paid Soccer Players

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi once again lead Forbes' list of the best-paid football players in the world for 2017, with the Real Madrid man netting $93 million, ahead of Messi's $80 million. 

The two have won every Ballon d'Or award since 2008 between them and predictably rank well ahead of every other player in the world in terms of income as well. Barcelona's Neymar ranks third, with an income of $37 million.

Here's a look at the top five:

1: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), $93 million

2: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), $80 million

3: Neymar (Barcelona), $37 million

4: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), $34 million

5: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United), $32 million

For the rest of the list, click here.

It marks the fourth straight year Ronaldo leads the list. His $93 million also tops the general list for athletes―in fact, the $58 million he made in salary and bonus money alone would be good enough for third place. For reference, NBA star LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers netted $31 million in salary.

Messi has some catching up to do, but with just one year left on his current deal, there's a good chance Barcelona will give him a hefty raise in the near future.

While the top four players on the list play in the Spanish La Liga, the highest average salary belongs to Manchester United, and veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic snuck into the top five with total earnings of $32 million.