Cristiano Ronaldo may lost to Messi for Balon d'Or, but the Barcelona striker still can't beat him when it comes to earnings. Although France Football magazine puts Messi as number one on it's annual rich list of football players, but in reality Cristiano Ronaldo and David still outnumbered him in off the field income.
David Beckham is first with $44 million, Ronaldo with $36 million, and Messi $27 million.
Messi is the world best player , for now, yet he couldn't match Ronaldo and Beckham glamorous and charismatic personality. Besides, Messi has a very limited English, unlike Ronaldo. Other factor, when Ronaldo and Beckham use entertainment firm creative artist Agency for the deals, Messi's career is being managed by his own father. See the difference ?
Messi's signed sponsorship with Adidas, Konami, PepsiCo, Chery and KFC. Gillette dropped Messi from their icon last month.
Messi should look up to other top rank players that has a bit reserved personality, such as Rafael Nadal. He spoke mostly Spanish and not pretty good in dealing with sponsorship other than Nike and few regional agreements. But currently, Nadal become more international by raising his profile, which led the endorsements crawling on his doorstep. Recently, Nadal even become Ronaldo replacement as Armani model.