With some describing Cristiano Ronaldo as "a walking billboard", he is the footballer who earns by far the most from sponsorship deals, pocketing more than the likes of Paul Pogba, Mohamed Salah and Neymar combined from endorsements.
Click through the gallery above to see the footballers who earn the most from sponsorships, according to Forbes!
Business magazine Forbes recently released their latest annual rich list of the highest-paid athletes, which saw Ronaldo overtake Lionel Messi as the top-earning footballer in the game.
Overall, the Juventus superstar received $105 million (R1.84 billion) from his Juventus salary, win bonuses and endorsements over the past 12 months, while Messi pocketed $104 million (R1.82 billion).
However, the Argentine earned more from basic salary and win bonuses, a total of $72 million (R1.26 billion) – than any other player in the same period – in comparison to Ronaldo's $60 million (R1.05 billion).
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The latter, though, made up for the gap by receiving a whopping $45 million (R789 million) from his sponsors.
Ronaldo is said to be only the second athlete to have a signed a life-time contract with Nike, which will reportedly see him earn $1 billion (R17 billion) over the course of his life through the agreement.
He also works with brands such as Herbalife, Tag Heuer, Electronic Arts, DAZN, and Altice, and has his own "CR7" brand too.
Messi, meanwhile, follows in second place with his endorsement deals earning him $32 million (R561 million) over the past year. The FC Barcelona star's biggest sponsors are adidas, MasterCard and PepsiCo.
Read: 14 Highest-Paid Footballers On Forbes Rich List
Neymar completes the podium with deals worth $25 million (R426 million), before Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah round out the top five, pocketing $13 million (R221 million) and $12 million (R204 million) from sponsorships, respectively.
The likes of Pogba, Mesut Ozil, who is understood to have just lost one of his biggest deals with Adidas, and Gareth Bale are also in the top 12, which you see in full in the gallery above!
Why do you think Ronaldo earns so much more from sponsors than other footballers? Have your say in the comments section below.
