Cristiano Ronaldo's new five-year contract extension has reportedly made him the highest paid footballer in the history of the sport, earning €21 million per season. According to Spanish sports daily, AS, Cristiano’s new salary is not made publically available due to a confidentiality clause, but the report states that the Portuguese star will earn €21 million per season. Annual cost As part of the new contract, Real Madrid will pay all the taxes, at a rate of 52%, meaning their annual cost of retaining the former Ballon d’Or winner will be a whopping €40 million per season. Cristiano’s old contract was under Spain’s ‘Beckham Law’ which hoped to draw more top flight footballers to Spain and reduced their tax rate to 24% but was abolished soon after Ronaldo signed in 2009. Prior to Sunday, Samuel Eto’o held the record for the highest paid footballer in history, earning €20 million per year in his two years at Anzhi, which Cristiano breaks by earning one million per year and Eto’o has since reduced his salary in order to join English Premier League side, Chelsea. Bonus Paris Saint Germain’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the third highest paid player earning €14.5 million per season. In an added bonus to fuel the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona, Ronaldo’s salary blows Leo Messi’s out of the water, as the Argentine earns €13 million per season and earns double what Neymar earns at €10 million.