David Beckham Tops But Primera Liga Dominates Footballers Rich List

Posted Friday, April 23, 2010 by Goal.com

Spanish-based and English-based players earn most...

David Beckham has once again been named by US Magazine Forbes as the world's highest paid footballer while the rest of the Top Ten earners is almost entirely made up of players based in the Primera Liga and English Premier League.

The 35-year-old former England captain is reputed to earn somewhere in the region of €30 million annually, with a sizeable proportion of that coming from endorsement deals with the likes of Adidas, however his potential to garner similar sponsorship figures this year were dealt a blow when he was ruled out of the forthcoming World Cup in South Africa with an Achilles tendon injury.

Real Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronaldo is second on the Forbes list, pocketing a reported €22 million a year, with around half of that coming from endorsements contracts with sports apparel giant Nike amongst others.

The Portuguese winger signed for los Merengues last summer from Manchester United in a six-year deal valued at around €11 million in this year and increasing by 25 per cent in the second year of the agreement.

Ronaldo's team-mate Kaka completes the top three earning approximately €17.5 million per annum and fellow Brazilian Ronaldinho is fourth on the list, earning a similar figure.

France captain and Barcelona forward Thierry Henry is fifth on the list, receiving over €16 million a year but may see his earnings increase shoul he follow Beckham's lead by moving to the MLS with rumours rife of an end-of-season switch to New York Red Bulls.

Current FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or holder Lionel Messi comes in at sixth on the list at €14 million while Chelsea duo Frank Lampard and John Terry occupy seventh and eighth spots with respective yearly incomes of €12 million and €11 million.

Barcelona's Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the fifth Primera Liga based player in the top ten placing ninth on the list, earning an estimated €11 million while Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard completes the top ten, he is understood to earn a figure of €10.5 million annually.

Interestingly, all bar three of the players featuring in the top ten have had spells at Real Madrid or Barcelona during their careers.

The Forbes Football Rich List Top Ten:

1. David Beckham      (LA Galaxy & Milan) €30 m
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)          €22 m
3.Kaka             (Real Madrid)          €17.5 m
4. Ronaldinho         (Milan)                 €17.5 m
5. Thierry Henry        (Barcelona)          €16 m
6. Lionel Messi          (Barcelona)          €14 m
7. Frank Lampard      (Chelsea)            €12 m
8. John Terry             (Chelsea)            €11 m
9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona)         €11 m
10. Steven Gerrard     (Liverpool)          €10.5 m