The 19-year-old who lifted the World Cup at MetLife Stadium on Sunday earned $43m over the past year.

The three richest players at the tournament had brought in nine times that, and none of them still in the tournament by the quarterfinals.

Lamine Yamal set up Ferran Torres in the 106th minute as Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time in East Rutherford. Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané and Riyad Mahrez had already flown home.

The three Saudi Pro League players collected an estimated $402m in the past 12 months, according to Sportico’s June rich list. All three exited before the quarterfinals.

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Ronaldo’s last World Cup ended by Spain

Ronaldo topped the list at $295m, driven by his Al-Nassr contract and endorsement portfolio. Portugal’s tournament ended at Dallas Stadium on Monday 6 July when Mikel Merino struck in stoppage time to give Spain a 1-0 Round of 16 win.

The 41-year-old confirmed afterwards it was his final World Cup. Three group-stage goals, a brace against Uzbekistan and a penalty against Croatia, were his contribution to a campaign that ended a round earlier than Portugal’s 2022 exit.

Mahrez retires as Switzerland send Algeria out

Mahrez, whose Al-Ahli deal generated $53m in the past year, saw his tournament end in Vancouver on 3 July.

Breel Embolo opened the scoring and Dan Ndoye added a second early after the break as Switzerland won the Round of 32 tie 2-0.

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The 35-year-old announced his international retirement immediately afterwards.

“Our aim was to go through and I think it was a game we could have won,” Mahrez said.

“But we conceded twice on mistakes and at this level, you can’t get away with it.” He closed his Algeria career on 119 caps and 40 goals.

Belgium comeback catches Senegal cold

Sadio Mané’s $54m from Al-Nassr made him the seventh-highest earner.

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Senegal scraped into the Round of 32 as one of the eight best third-placed finishers after thrashing Iraq 5-0 in Toronto in their final group game.

In Seattle on 1 July they led Belgium 2-0 through Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr. Romelu Lukaku pulled one back, Youri Tielemans equalised in the 89th minute, and Tielemans converted a contested VAR penalty in the 125th minute to win 3-2 in extra time.

“We had a good first half, but it wasn’t enough,” midfielder Habib Diarra said afterwards.

“We’re devastated. It’s very tough.”

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Saudi trio out before the last eight

The Saudi Pro League has spent aggressively to sign players still operating at international level, and 2026 was the first World Cup that measured what those wages buy on football’s biggest stage.

Yamal, on Barcelona wages of $43m, provided the assist for Torres’s winner at 19 years old.

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