10 PHILIP LAM


Over the last decade football has become one of the most admired and profitable sports in the world. Despite the financial crisis, investments in professional football did’t diminish. Especially in Europe we were able to witness the astronomical investments by many foreign investors. Walk through our up to date list of 10 richest football players who play in Europe.German full back Philipp Lham is having a salary of $13.5 M and other income through sponsors are around $8 M. He is captain of Bayern Munich and German national team. His performance over recent years are constant and unreachable.


   9 ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC


Zlatan Ibrahimovic did some great job towards middle of this list last summer when rich Paris Saint-Germain singed him and Thiago Silva from AC Milan. Zlatan is new PSG goal machine and his salary is around $19 M after tax raise. I have no doubt that they will become one of the best European side soon.


   8 YAYA TOURE

Yaya Toure accepted great deal back in 2010 with Manchester City to play alongside his brother Kolo and earn $16.5 M per year. Last year they did massive job to won their first Premier League title together. His additional earnings from sponsors are around $2.5 M.


     7 FERNANDO TORRES


Fernando Torres signed promising five-year deal for Chelsea two years ago, but unfortunately did’t work out as good as many expected. However, Torres had reason to celebrate as his team won Champions League. His salary is $16.6 M and $3 M income from sponsors. I can’t judge if he really deserves to be on this list at the moment, but I hope we’ll see him back in form soon!


     6 SERGIO AGUERO

Argentine signed massive contract for Manchester City that pays him over $16 million a year. His additional earnings from sponsors are worth of $3.5 M. In just two years of playing for the English giant he won his frist English Premier League title.



     5 WAYNE ROONEY


One of the most well know players nowadays Wayne Rooney earned $24.3 M last year. Rooney is key member of Manchester United’s squad and looks like he will remain in Red shirt until the end of his football days. His salary is constantly increasing and is around $17 M, everything else are sponsors.




     4 SAMUEL ETO'O PHILLS


Samuel Eto’o signed interesting three-year deal with FC Anzhi Makhachkala in August 2011. Cameroonian striker is the highest-paid player ever in term of club salary with $28.8 M per year and other income through sponsors are $4 M.



     3 DAVID BECKHAM


David Beckham is 38 years old English player and one of the most paid athlete on the world. He played in Major League Soccer for six years till last December. Beckham’s salary was surprisingly low compared to other players on the list, only $9 M. His main income worth around $37 M are from sponsons. Gunners accepted Beckham to train with first squad in January. On the last day of winter transfer window he announced move to PSG and all his salary devoted to charity.



     2 CHRISTIANO RONALDO


Portugal striker and key man of Real Madrid’s offensive line Christiano Ronaldo is proud holder of record for highest fee ever paid for football player. His salaray is $20.5 M and twice as much he gets from sponsors. He’s oftenly compared to Barcelona’s Lionel Messi as one of the best player at the moment. Not so long ago Ronaldo expressed the desire to play once again for Manchester United.



     1 LIONEL MESSI


Lionel Messi reached massive achivements on personal and club level in recent two years. We can all agree (if somebody) he deserves to be on this list as one of the best players in the world. His annual salary in Barcelona is $21.2 M and nearly twice as much he gets from sponsors. Barca raised his salary when he broke the record for most goals in a calendar year ever. Messi is becoming one of the biggest football brands in the world so you can expect much more reports on its earnings in future.