World's Top Paid Soccer Player Faces Worse Drought in 5 Years

Barcelona's Argentine star striker Lionel Messi, who is going through his worst drought in five years, remains the world's highest paid soccer player with an annual income of US$84.3 million, according to a report set to appear in Tuesday's edition of France Football magazine.

Messi's earnings in 2015 rose by about US$10 million compared to the previous figures, keeping the five-time Ballon d'Or winner ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's US$76.8 million, and Neymar's US$49.5 million as the top three stayed unchanged for the third year running.

France Football's estimates were based on players' pre-tax salaries, sponsorship revenues and various bonuses, it added.

Angel Di Maria was the top-earning player in France with US$27.3 million following his off-season move from Manchester United, with the Argentine narrowly ahead of Paris Saint-Germain team-mates Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Despite his sacking from Chelsea in December, Jose Mourinho was the highest earning coach on US$27.3 million, with Pep Guardiola and Fabio Capello rounding out the top three.

In spite of being the world's best paid player, Messi is going through a slump as he has gone four straight games without scoring a goal. According to USA Today, it's the first time he has gone four games without a scoring in all competitions since May 2011.

Messi will need to get it together soon because Barca could be in trouble, because although they remain at the top of La Liga, there lead is down to just three points. Question now is whether Messi will score in the midweek Champions League Quarterfinals game against Atletico Madrid.