24-year-old footballer, Kylian Mbappe, captain of the French national team and a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, has placed third among the highest-paid athletes in the world after earning $120 million in a year. The soccer player made his debut between May 1, 2022, and May 1, 2023, according to a recently released Forbes list.

The star footballer earned an estimated $20 million from off-field sources such as sponsorships, appearance fees, and licensing income for the 12 months leading up to May 1, 2023, fortifying his place as the third highest-paid athlete in the world.

The only football stars to surpass his earnings were Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo, who earned $136 million and $130 million respectively.

Kylian Mbappe was born on December 20, 1998, in Paris to his mother, Fayza Lamari, and to his father, Wilfred Mbappe – a French-Cameroonian coach and agent. He made waves in the football world by signing for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 when he was 18 and later became the second-most expensive player and the priciest teenage player in history with a transfer fee of €180 million.

He soon climbed up from the 35th position of the highest-paid athletes in the world, to number three within a year. According to Billionaires Africa, Mbappe also holds the highest-paying salary in all of football, with a monthly wage of €4 million and a signing-on figure of approximately €100 million.

He currently has one World Cup title under his belt and another World Cup Final appearance in 2022. Forbes notes him as the first player ambassador for Sorare, a cryptocurrency-based fantasy game in June.

Basketball star, LeBron James, placed 4th after the PSG star according to the Forbes report.