Looking for the World Cup Winner? Don’t Follow the Money

Brazil’s Pelé, arguably still the greatest football player of all time, made his World Cup debut in Sweden in 1958 when he was only seventeen. In 1960, his team, Santos, reportedly paid him $150,000 a year — about $1.5 million in today’s money. These days that would amount to middling pay. Paris Saint-Germain pays Mbappe $110 million a year. Even aging superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are on their way out, make $100 million or more, including sponsorships. They are not 67 times as good as the Brazilian master.