Annual salaries for the world's top soccer stars can rival those in
other sports. However, it is off the field where the true earning power
of the elite players comes into play.
The greatest example of that is David Beckham. Beckham is well-past
his prime as a soccer player but his popularity, style, and good looks
have him sitting atop the list of the world's highest-paid soccer
players.
On the next few pages, we will take a look at the top ten highest-paid footballers,
as calculated by Forbes.com, and how much they make both on the field and off.
It is worth noting that Samuel Eto'o, who plays in Russia, is not
listed. It is believed by many that he has the highest salary for any
soccer player. However, it is unclear if his
reported $26.2 million salary has ever been verified.
#10 Didier Drogba — $17.8 million
Club: Galatasaray
Country: Turkey
Salary: $15.7 million
Other Income: Drogba's biggest endorsement deals include Nike and Pepsi.
#9 Ricardo Kaka — $19.3 million
Club: Real Madrid
Country: Spain
Salary: $14.3 million
Other Income: $5.0 million. Kaka's biggest endorsement deals include Adidas and Pepsi.
#8 Neymar — $19.5 million
Club: Santos
Country: Brazil
Salary: $10.4 million
Other Income: $9.1 million. Neymar's biggest endorsement deals include Nike, Red Bull, Panasonic, and Volkswagen.
#6 (tied) Fernando Torres — $20.2 million
Club: Chelsea
Country: England
Salary: $16.6 million
Other Income: $3.6 million. Torres' biggest endorsement deals include Nike and Pepsi.
#6(tied) Yaya Toure — $20.2 million
Club: Manchester City
Country: England
Salary: $16.6 million
Other Income: $3.6 million. Toure's biggest endorsement deal is with Puma.
#5 Wayne Rooney — $20.3 million
Michael Regan/Getty Images
Club: Manchester United
Country: England
Salary: $17.8 million
Other Income: $2.5 million. Rooney's biggest endorsement deals include Nike and Harper Collins.
#4 Sergio Aguero — $20.8 million
Club: Manchester City
Country: England
Salary: $16.6 million
Other Income: $4.2 million. Aguero's biggest endorsement deals include Puma and Pepsi.
#3 Lionel Messi — $40.3 million
Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
Club: Barcelona
Country: Spain
Salary: $21.2 million
Other Income: $19.1 million. Messi's biggest endorsement deals
include Adidas, Pepsi, EA Sports, Dolce & Gabana, and Turkish
Airlines.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo — $43.5 million
Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
Club: Real Madrid
Country: Spain
Salary: $21.9 million
Other Income: $21.6 million. Ronaldo's biggest endorsement deals include Nike and Castrol.
#1 David Beckham — $50.6 million
Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Country: France
Salary: $6.5 million
Other Income: $44.1 million. Beckham's biggest endorsement deals include Adidas, Breitling, and H&M.
