Ronaldo, Messi and... Abduqodir Husanov featured in Forbes ranking
Great news for the many fans of Abduqodir Husanov, currently Uzbekistan's most famous footballer! The prestigious Forbes Sport portal has included Abduqodir Husanov, defender for the Uzbekistan national team and English giant Manchester City, in the ranking of the highest-paid footballers in his country. The organization compiled a list of 48 footballers who are the wealthiest in their respective homelands among the 2026 World Cup participants.
How was the ranking compiled and what were the criteria?
Forbes Sport researchers formed this ranking based on the players' total annual income. This includes not only on-field earnings but all the following income sources:
Official club salary and bonuses;
Sponsorship contracts and advertising deals;
Licensing fees and profits from personal businesses.
The calculations utilized data from the industry's most reliable sources — Capology, Football Benchmark and Spotrac , with all sums shown before taxes and agency commissions.
Abduqodir Husanov's multi-million position and earnings
Only one footballer from Uzbekistan was included in this prestigious list — 22-year-old Abduqodir Husanov , who took 38th place in the overall ranking.
According to Forbes Sport, our compatriot's annual income is as follows:
Earnings from football: 5 million USD;
Earnings outside of football: 1.2 million USD.
The article notes that the Uzbek football star's primary sponsor is the world-renowned Puma company. Additionally, Husanov's entrepreneurial skills are commendable: in 2025, he launched his own AK45 energy drink brand, and this successful project played a significant role in evaluating his commercial income.
The world's top three: Ronaldo still leads!
As usual, the top of the ranking is occupied by world football legends:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) — Total annual income 280 million dollars. Of this, 230 million dollars come from football and 50 million dollars from advertising and commerce.
Lionel Messi (Argentina) — Annual income 130 million dollars. Unlike Ronaldo, Messi earns more from commerce: 60 million dollars from football and 70 million dollars from commercial activities.
Kylian Mbappe (France) — Total annual income 95 million dollars. The French star's earnings consist of 70 million dollars from football and 25 million dollars from advertising contracts.
The fact that our compatriot Abduqodir Husanov is listed alongside such global stars in one of the world's most prestigious financial rankings proves how much the prestige of Uzbek football is rising on the international stage!
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