Lionel Messi has been named the
highest paid footballer in the world,
trailed by England’s American based
star, David Beckham and Real Madrid’s
Portuguese star in third position.
According to France Football, which is
set to release figures for the best paid
players in the world on Tuesday,
Barcelona forward Messi raked in €33
million last year from wages and
sponsorship deals.
LA Galaxy midfielder and former
England captain Beckham, for so long
the game’s top earner, came in second
on €31.5m, while Real Madrid star
Ronaldo collected €29.2m in 2011.
Elsewhere, Samuel Eto’o, who made a
lucrative move from Inter to Anzhi
Makhachkala last summer, is fourth on
the list, with Manchester United striker
Wayne Rooney fifth.
Wealthy Premier League outfit
Manchester City have two players in the
top ten, with Argentine forward Sergio
Aguero and Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya
Toure sixth and seventh, respectively.
The only other club represented twice is
Madrid, with Ronaldo’s team-mate Kaka
ranking ninth.
Elsewhere, it is worth noting that
Chelsea misfit Fernando Torres, who
finally got back amongst the goals at the
weekend, netted €16.7m during his
disastrous first 12 months at Stamford
Bridge.
There is not a single player based in
Serie A in the top 10 but there is one
representative from the Bundesliga,
Bayern Munich skipper Philipp Lahm.
THE LIST
Lionel Messi
(Barcelona) 33m
David Beckham (LA
Galaxy) 31.5m
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real
Madrid) 29.2m
Samuel Eto’o
(Anzhi) 23.3m
Wayne Rooney (Man
United) 20.6m
Sergio Aguero (Man
City) 18.8m
Yaya Toure (Man
City) 17.6m
Fernando Torres
(Chelsea) 16.7m
Kaka (Real
Madrid)
15.5m
Philipp Lahm (Bayern
Munich) 14.3m
The amount was rated in the generally
accepted currency of the European
Union member countries.
Posted by Channels Television