Share

Messi tops football rich list

Barcelona - Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has ended David Beckham’s two-year reign as the best-paid player in world football, according to France Football magazine’s annual ‘rich list’.

According to the SportBusiness website, Argentinean forward Messi, who scored a second successive La Liga hat-trick in Barcelona’s 4-2 win over Real Zaragoza on Sunday, has estimated annual earnings of €33 million, ahead of Beckham (€30.4 million) in second and Cristiano Ronaldo in third (€30 million).

Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho tops the manager’s rich list with €13 million per year, ahead of Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini with €12 million.

According to France Football, Messi’s annual wage is made up of a €10 million basic salary, €4 million in bonuses and €19 million from personal endorsements which include Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Gillette, Gatorade, Konami, Air Europa, Telefonica/Movistar, SportCenter/ESPN, Damm, Danone, Lody For Men, Storkman, Repsol YPF, SanDisk and Mirage/Seiko.

Despite suffering a slight drop in income from the 2009 list, Beckham places in the top two of footballers’ earnings for the ninth consecutive time. Part of Beckham’s salary decrease is due to the fall in value of the dollar.

The top 10:

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) €33m
2. David Beckham (LA Galaxy) €30.4m
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) €30m
4. Kaka (Real Madrid) €18.8m
5. Thierry Henry (Barcelona) €18m
6. Ronaldinho (AC Milan) €17.2m
7. Carlos Tevez (Manchester City) €15.4m
8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona) €14.5m
9. Frank Lampard (Chelsea) €14.2m
10. Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan) €13.8m
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1816 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1774 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1082 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 459 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 186 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 252 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE