Lionel Messi beats Cristiano Ronaldo to top Forbes' 2020 football rich list - Check the earnings of both players here

In yet another achievement for Argentine striker Lionel Messi, the Barcelona star has topped this year's football rich list. According to Forbes, Messi has become only the second footballer -  after Portuguese playmaker Cristiano Ronaldo - to reach $1 billion in pre-tax earnings.

Messi recently said that he wanted to leave Barcelona but club president Josep Maria Bartomeu did not accept his request. Bartomeu's refusal means that Messi, 33, will earn $92 million for the remaining year of his contract.

Forbes estimated that Messi will earn USD 126 million in 2020, while Ronaldo will take home $117 million. Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar is in third place with $96 million and French international Kylian Mbappe will get richer by $42 million.

Mbappe, 21, is one of the youngest players to grace the cover of FIFA's EA Sports video game series. Forbes said that the French star is set to earn more by signing a new contract after the expiry of his current deal with PSG in 2022.

Liverpool's Egyptian forward Mo Salah is at the fifth place with $37 million and Premier League star Paul Pogba is sixth at $34 million.

Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann ($33m), Real Madrid's Gareth Bale ($29m), Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski ($28m) and Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea ($27m) are the other players in the top 10.