Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's on-field struggles have not only resulted in criticism by fans, pundits and former football stars, but have affected their salaries, as well.
The impact is so deep that a new heavyweight, who is usually in the news for all the wrong reasons, is on top of the list of highest-salaried players and he is none other than Neymar.
The Brazilian forward, whose time is running out at PSG, with his growing antics at the Parc des Princes grabbing a majority of headlines in recent days, is the only footballer to receive more than $50 million in annual wages at the moment, according to French newspaper L'Equipe.
The 30-year-old receives an estimated $53.8m from the French outfit annually.
When Messi joined PSG last year, many expected him to break all sorts of records as far as annual pay. Instead, he's now behind his good friend Neymar in this department, "only" getting $44.5m annually from the Ligue 1 club.
Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo follows the two with earnings of $34.8m at Old Trafford.
While his eternal rival, Messi's struggles in France have been well documented, CR7 has been accused of dividing the Red Devils' dressing room.
The Portuguese wizard has been unable to weave his magic in the United Kingdom with United still languishing well outside the top-4 of the English top flight.
Messi's former Barca colleague, Gerard Pique, occupies the fourth position on the charts with a salary of $30.7m annually in Catalonia.
Rounding-off the top-5 is Welsh winger Gareth Bale, who is set to be offloaded by his current employers, Real Madrid, in the summer, but earns an impressive $29.9m per year from the 13-time Champions League winners.
Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus