The 8 highest-paid soccer players in the world

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. Over 1 billion people watched the last World Cup in 2014, and that year FIFA raked in over $5.7 billion in revenue.

Some players are raking it in as well.

According to Forbes' ranking of the 100 highest-paid athletes in the world, three of the five highest-paid athletes on earth are soccer players. Overall, eight footballers made the list.

Here are the eight highest-paid soccer players in the world:

Pay: $26.9 M
Salary/winnings: $19.9 M
Endorsements: $7 M
Country: Uruguay
Club: FC Barcelona
Position: Forward

Pay: $27 M
Salary/winnings: $22 M
Endorsements: $5 M
Country: England
Club: Everton
Position: Forward

Pay: $27.4 M
Salary/winnings: $25.9 M
Endorsements: $1.5 M
Country: Brazil
Club: Shanghai SIPG
Position: Midfield

Pay: $29.5 M
Salary/winnings: $25 M
Endorsements: $4.5 M
Country: France
Club: Manchester United
Position: Midfield

Pay: $34.6 M
Salary/winnings: $28.6 M
Endorsements: $6 M
Country: Wales
Club: Real Madrid
Position: Forward

Pay: $90 M
Salary/winnings: $73 M
Endorsements: $17 M
Country: Brazil
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Position: Forward

Pay: $108 M
Salary/winnings: $61 M
Endorsements: $47 M
Country: Portugal
Club: Real Madrid
Position: Forward

Pay: $111 M
Salary/winnings: $84 M
Endorsements: $27 M
Country: Argentina
Club: FC Barcelona
Position: Forward

Lionel Messi is currently the world's highest-paid soccer player. The Argentinian has played for FC Barcelona since 2000, when he was just 13 years old. In 2017, Messi signed a contract to stay with the club through the 2020-2021 season which included a €700 million (approximately $822 million) buyout clause. According to Forbes, the star brought in $111 million this past year.

Closely following Messi is Christiano Ronaldo, who was the world's highest-paid athlete the previous year. Ronaldo signed a contract extension with Real Madrid in 2016 that is expected to be worth more than $50 million a year before taxes. He also is known for landing lucrative endorsement deals from companies like Nike and Tag Heuer.

Despite their sky-high earnings, both Messi and Ronaldo have faced accusations of tax fraud. In 2016, Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, were found guilty on three counts of defrauding tax authorities of €4.1 million ($4.6 million). In 2017, Ronaldo was accused by the Spanish government of defrauding Spain's revenue offices of almost €15 million ($17.5 million) in unpaid taxes.

All of the highest-paid players were men, and all were either forwards or midfielders. Ronaldo's Real Madrid teammate, Wales' Gareth Bale, is the only highest-paid player to not have his national team qualify for the World Cup.

Like this story? Subscribe to CNBC Make It on YouTube!

Don't miss:

• Kevin Durant will pay for the first year of college for these 4 students
• Vermont will pay you $10,000 to move there and work from home
• The odds of filling out a perfect March Madness bracket can be as low as 1 in 9.2 quintillian