Lionel Messi earns almost R18 million a week

Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has surpassed rival Cristiano Ronaldo as the highest paid footballer.

According to France Football magazine Messi earned a staggering £47.8million (R847million) in 2014.

The Argentine is now the highest-paid footballer around the world pocketing closed to £1million (R180 million) a week in 2014 in salary and numerous sponsorship deals, making him the world's highest-paid footballer ahead of both  Neymar and Ronaldo.

Messi’s club salary amounted to £26million (R460 million) with the rest of his earnings reportedly coming from endorsements with the brands such as adidas, FIFA 15 and Turkish Airlines.

"It puts him well ahead of his Real Madrid and Portugal nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo, who brought in £39.7million", according to the latest France Football magazine rich list stats.

Top 10 highest paid footballers:

1. Lionel Messi £47.8million

2. Cristiano Ronaldo £39.7million

3. Neymar £26.8million

4. Thiago Silva £20.2million

5. Robin van Persie £18.8million

6. Gareth Bale £17.5million

7. Wayne Rooney £16.5million

8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic £15.8million

9. Sergio Aguero £15.6million

10. Robert Lewandowski £14.8million