Neymar Dethrones Messi As The Highest Paid Footballer On The Planet

Nice work @Ronaldo but I’ll just leave this here #raiseit pic.twitter.com/YMsj4b4qoZ

— Neymar Jr (@neymarjr) June 23, 2016

Barcelona superstar Neymar has reportedly dethroned his fellow teammate Lionel Messi as the highest paid footballer on the planet.

It was not too long ago that the Brazilian sensation was almost close to securing a move away from the Catalan club, by examining the three lucrative offers he had on his table – from European powerhouses Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris Saint Germain.

All three clubs intended to secure Neymar’s services, and were set to activate the €190 million buy-out clause in his contract.

Neymar’s previous Barcelona contract saw him earn £8.3 million per season. So in order to tempt the winger away from the club, arch-rivals Real Madrid were the first club to reportedly offered Neymar a better deal, worth £14 million per season.

English giants Manchester United also put their huge financial resources into use, and tabled an even better offer, which was close to around €15.8 million per season.

However, the club to submit the biggest offer for the 24-year-old was none other than Paris Saint Germain, making a whopping €17.2 million per season, which could have further risen up to €22 million per season!

But despite these gigantic offers, Barcelona managed to come out on top once again, and convinced their #11 to stay on and sign a new contract, which will now see him earn an unbelievable €25 million per season after tax – exactly €3 million more than what Lionel Messi, who is arguably the best footballer in the world, earns per year.

The new deal has also increased Neymar’s buy-out clause to an astonishing €200 million in its first year, and will further increase up to €225 million in the second year, and €250 million in the following years.