The 2026 FIFA World Cup is stacking a lot of firsts this year. Forty-eight teams for the first time in the tournament’s 96-year history. Three host countries: the United States, Canada and Mexico. Sixteen cities, another record. Then, on the pitch, the first billionaire players ever to compete at a World Cup, with 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo captaining Portugal and 38-year-old Lionel Messi leading Argentina’s title defence.
The ticket prices deserve their own spotlight, almost matching the star power. FIFA recently listed a seat for the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey at $32,970 (around €30,500), triple what it cost in an April drop and more than twenty times the equivalent seat in Qatar four years ago. On the FIFA resale site, four seats to the final came up as just under $2.3 million (roughly €2.13 million). Even the billionaires might blink.
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Here is the Forbes-ranked starting eleven who lead football’s payroll:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
Portugal, 41, $300 million (€278M) On-field: $235M and Off-field: $65M
Ronaldo is not just football’s highest-paid player. He is the highest-paid athlete on the planet across any sport, an honour he has now claimed four years running. His $300 million haul over the past twelve months ties Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the largest ever recorded by Forbes, without adjusting for inflation. He is the only athlete to have crossed $2 billion in career earnings while still competing, and his net worth now sits at $1.2 billion, positioning him comfortably in a three-comma club of only four active athletes worldwide. He enters his sixth World Cup still chasing the one trophy missing from his cabinet.
2. Lionel Messi
Argentina, 38, $140 million (€130M) On-field: $70M and Off-field: $70M
Messi joined his old rival in the ten-figure club this year, with a Forbes-estimated net worth of $1.1 billion. Similar to Ronaldo, this is his sixth World Cup. With four goals played this summer, the football star is out to pass Miroslav Klose’s 16 for the most in World Cup history. Off the pitch, Messi is anchoring new commercials for Adidas (alongside Bad Bunny and Timothée Chalamet) and Michelob Ultra (with Christian Pulisic and Billy Bob Thornton). Lowe’s, meanwhile, is also selling a ten-foot-tall inflatable Messi for $99 if anyone is interested.
3. Kylian Mbappé
France, 27, $95 million (€88M) On-field: $70M and Off-field: $25M
Mbappé has played in three fewer World Cups than Messi but is only one goal behind him on the tournament’s all-time list. He led France to the title in 2018 at the age of nineteen, then took them back to the final four years later. This past season he was the Champions League’s top scorer for Real Madrid, and his commercial value keeps increasing to match. Heading into the tournament, he disclosed to his fans a wellness partnership with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and signed on as both ambassador and investor to French health insurer Alan.
4. Erling Haaland
Norway, 25 $80 million (€74M) On-field: $60M and Off-field: $20M
Haaland signed a long extension with Manchester City last year. Renewable energy entrepreneur Enrique Riquelme said publicly last week that he would sign the Norwegian if he wins the Real Madrid presidency. The city responded by threatening legal action. Haaland’s response has been to focus on Norway’s first World Cup since 1998, which was two years before he was born. “It’s a lot of pressure on me, but I like the pressure,” he recently told GQ. “I would put a lot of pressure on Erling Haaland if I wasn’t Erling Haaland myself.”
5. Vinicius Jr.
Brazil, 25, $60 million (€56M) On-field: $40M and Off-field: $20M
Vinicius may have been coloured by Real Madrid’s disappointing season, because he has spent months publicly downplaying Brazil’s chances at the tournament. In his own words, Argentina, Portugal, Spain and France are the real contenders. FanDuel and DraftKings have Brazil fourth and fifth in the odds respectively, which suggests the bookmakers agree with him. As Brazil seeks to end a 24-year drought, fans have been all over social media over something they spotted in a recent Nike ad, a brief shot of a Fortnite skin bearing Vinicius’s likeness, from a potential collaboration that has yet to be officially announced.
6. Mohamed Salah
Egypt, 33, $55 million (€51M) On-field: $35M and Off-field: $20M
After nine seasons, 257 goals and two Premier League titles at Liverpool, Salah has decided to move on. He turns 34 on June 15 and reached an agreement with the Reds in March to end his contract a year early, freeing him to sign anywhere this summer as a free transfer. The “Egyptian King,” who has been credited with reducing Islamophobia in Liverpool during his time there, now leads his country into its fourth World Cup. Egypt has claimed the Africa Cup of Nations a record seven times, but has never won a match at the World Cup, an achievement the Pharaohs will look to end against Belgium, Iran and New Zealand in Group G.
7. Sadio Mané
Senegal, 34, $54 million (€50M) On-field: $50M and Off-field: $4M
Mané has already won two major trophies this year, although only one still counts. He teamed with Ronaldo to lift the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr, and led Senegal to the Africa Cup of Nations final in January, only for the title to be stripped two months later after Senegalese players walked off the pitch protesting a penalty awarded to Morocco. His Al-Nassr deal reportedly expires at the end of the month, so a strong World Cup could reset his market. He missed the 2022 tournament due to a knee injury.
8. Jude Bellingham
England, 22, $44 million (€41M) On-field: $29M and Off-field: $15M
Bellingham is one of three Real Madrid players in this lineup, alongside Mbappé and Vinicius. He is not yet 23, but he has already delivered at the last World Cup, becoming England’s second-youngest tournament goal-scorer in a group-stage match against Iran and adding an assist in the Round of 16. That performance fuelled his transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for more than $100 million, one of the largest fees ever recorded. This summer, however, he faces a different challenge. England manager Thomas Tuchel said this week that Bellingham will have to fight for playing time, with the Three Lions carrying “14 or 15 potential starters” on the roster.
9. Lamine Yamal
Spain, 18, $43 million (€40M) On-field: $33M and Off-field: $10M
Yamal missed the end of Barcelona’s La Liga-winning season due to a hamstring injury, and although he returned to Spain training in late May, his club has set strict restrictions on how Spain can use him. According to Spanish newspaper AS, Yamal will play only 15 minutes as a substitute in the opener against Cape Verde and up to 60 minutes against Saudi Arabia the following week. His screen time will not suffer regardless. In January, he signed with American Eagle, and this summer he fronts World Cup campaigns for Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Powerade and Visa.
10. Harry Kane
England, 32, $41 million (€38M) On-field: $29M and Off-field: $12M
The only member of the top eleven highest-paid players at the World Cup to play his club football in the German Bundesliga, Kane leads the line for Bayern Munich. He also stands as England’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals in 113 internationals. He shared the Golden Boot at the European Championship 2024 as the tournament’s top scorer, where England reached the final. His pre-tournament form is far from modest, with 32 goals for his club and country in 2026 already, 14 more than any other player on the planet this year, according to ESPN.
11. Neymar
Brazil, 34, $38 million (€35M) On-field: $10M and Off-field: $28M
Neymar is still recovering from a calf injury that has kept him out of Brazil’s warm-up matches. Coach Carlo Ancelotti has warned that even at peak fitness, he will have to compete with Vinicius Jr. and Raphinha for minutes. Even so, Brazil has assigned him the iconic No. 10 shirt for the tournament, the jersey worn before him by Pelé, Zico, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaká. Neymar will be the only Brazilian to have carried that number at four World Cups.
