The list is out again and no, David Beckham does not top it. The accolades just seem to keep on coming for Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. The Argentine international has dethroned Englishman David Beckham as the world’s richest football player.
According to France Football the publishers of the list, Messi is now the world’s highest paid football earning a whooping 29.6 million Pounds annually! After leading his side to the treble last season, Messi earned a bonus of 3.6 million Pounds. This according to France Football is what took him to the top of the list.
Messi has effectively ended Beckham’s 2 year reign as football’s richest player and if you thought that Messi’s news ends there, then you are wrong. Lio has also officially become the 4th yes the 4th highest earning athlete after Tiger Woods, Phil ‘leftie’ Mickelson and Cleveland’s LeBron James. At only 22 years of age, the sky is truly the limit for this wonder kid.
The top ten highest earning list contains 2 Brazilians, 2 Argentinians, 2 Englishmen, 1 Swede, 1 Frenchman, 1 Portuguese and 1 African. Below is a breakdown of the list in chronological order starting with the highest paid player. The list combines the salaries, bonuses and off- field earnings of the players.
1. Lionel Messi (Argentina and Barcelona) 29.6m Pounds
2. David Beckham ( England, LA Galaxy and Milan) 27.3m Pounds
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal and Real Madrid) 27m Pounds
4. Kaka ( Brazil and Real Madrid) 16.9mPounds
5. Thierry Henry ( France and Barcelona) 16.1m Pounds
6. Ronaldinho (Brazil and AC Milan) 15.5m Pounds
7. Carlos Tevez (Argentina and Manchester City) 13.8m Pounds
8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden and Barcelona) 13m Pounds
9. Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea) 12.8m Pounds
10. Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon and Inter Milan) 12.4m Pounds
