The combined annual amount of the ten most significant salaries of the athletes called to represent Brazil at the 2026 World Cup reaches the mark of R$858.7 million. The top of the list is occupied by striker Vinicius Junior, while the list does not include the name of Neymar, a professional who already had the third highest salary on the planet when he played for Al Hilal, in Saudi Arabian football.
The first place in the national team’s remuneration ranking belongs to winger Vinicius Junior, from Real Madrid, who earns a monthly amount in excess of R$11 million. The second position in terms of earnings in the squad belongs to midfielder Casemiro, an athlete who will change teams after the end of the world tournament and received salaries of R$9.4 million during his time at Manchester United.
Premier League athletes dominate the top of the salary rankings
Among the ten professionals in the Brazilian team with the highest income, four play their roles in the English league (Casemiro, Martinelli, Bruno Guimarães and Matheus Cunha), two play for teams in Spain (Vini Jr. and Raphinha), two compete in Saudi Arabia (Fabinho and Ibañez), one plays in French territory (Marquinhos) and one is based in Turkish football (Ederson).
To establish a market parameter, the two football athletes with the highest salaries in the world today are Cristiano Ronaldo, who earns R$111 million each month, and Lionel Messi, with estimated monthly income in the range of R$32.3 million. The financial statistics presented in this survey were consolidated by the Capology platform, a vehicle specialized in sports economic data.
Neymar contract prioritizes advertising revenue in return for Santos
The monthly salaries set for Neymar reach the mark of R$4.14 million. Thus, the annual financial bond signed by the attacking player with Santos amounts to R$53.8 million. Additionally, the athlete has the contractual guarantee of receiving, at a minimum level, US$15 million (which represents approximately R$85 million) arising from commercial agreements and exploitation of image rights.
By exclusively isolating the amounts received as payroll, the Santos striker is decentralized from the group of ten main salaries in the Brazilian squad, following the methodology that only accounts for revenues recorded strictly as a fixed club salary. The financial engineering set up for the athlete’s return to national football transfers the largest volume of his earnings to sponsor shares and advertising actions.
- Vini Jr. – Monthly: R$ 11.2 million | Annual: R$146.2 million
- Casemiro – Monthly: R$ 9.4 million | Annual: R$122.6 million
- Raphinha – Monthly: R$ 7.5 million | Annual: R$97.5 million
- Ederson – Monthly: R$ 7.1 million | Annual: R$92.4 million
- Fabinho – Monthly: R$6.3 million | Annual: R$81.9 million
- Marquinhos – Monthly: R$6.04 million | Annual: R$78.6 million
- Gabriel Martinelli – Monthly: R$4.85 million | Annual: R$63.1 million
- Matheus Cunha – Monthly: R$4.85 million | Annual: R$63.1 million
- Ibañez – Monthly: R$4.4 million | Annual: R$57.2 million
- Bruno Guimarães – Monthly: R$4.3 million | Annual: R$56.1 million
