Highest Paid Footballers (and Guess Which MLS Star is #1?)
By: Laurie | May 2nd, 2008
ollie-kahn.jpgThe numbers are out. Guess who the #1 highest-paid footballer is? You’ll never guess.
I’ll give you a hint. Plays in MLS. Has a “pop-star” wife. Made an estimated $49 million last year, of which only $12 million came from actually playing the game. ($6.5 million of that from the LA Galaxy.)
Okay, so the fact that David Beckham makes a lot of money is no surprise. But who outside of the Bundesliga would have guessed that Bayern Munich goalkeeper Ollie Kahn (pictured) would have cracked the top twenty?
This list includes all incoming cash from things like endorsement deals, so it differs from this list, which includes only salary.
Who else made the Forbes list of highest paid footballers in the world?
As in previous years, Chelsea is well represented, with 5 players in the top twenty for a total combined salary of $78.7 million. They’re still in the running in both the EPL title race and Champions League, so maybe this is the year they’ll have something to show for the expenditure.
League total for the top twenty
English Premier League: 9
Spain La Liga: 5
Italy Serie A : 4
Bundesliga: 1
MLS: 1
Here’s the player list. (And is anybody else a little surprised by the number of over-thirty players whose real value at this point is the face/reputation and not the play?)
01. David Beckham, LA Galaxy, $48.9 million. Pitches Armani underwear AND Sharpie markers. Not sure if there’s a connection and I don’t want to think about it.
02. Ronaldinho, Barcelona, $32.6 million. Forbes mentions “Brazilian Superstar Disease” as the reason he’s gone missing in Barcelona this year. Love it.
03. Thierry Henry, Barcelona, $25.1 million. The article actually lists the Seattle Sounders as possible suitors. Seattle, we’ve reached the big time and we don’t even have a team yet.
04. Ronaldo, AC Milan, $21.2 million. The other Ronaldo. Time will tell whether The Incident will affect his endorsement value.
05. Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, $18.5 million. Anybody else surprised that he’s only #5? But he’s only 23. Give it some time.
06. Kaka, AC Milan, $17.7 million. If I said anything snarky about Ricky, I would probably go straight to hell. So I’m done.
07. Fabio Cannavaro, Real Madrid, $17.5 million. Includes “Sting” sunglasses contract.
08. Andriy Shevchenko, Chelsea, $17.5 million. Chelsea. Where good players go to die. On the field.
09. Steven Gerrard, Liverpool, $17.1 million. The only Liverpudlian on the list. Yes, it’s a real word. Why would you doubt me?
10. John Terry, Chelsea, $17 million. Includes “King of Shaves” endorsement, which means he’s truly arrived.
11. Wayne Rooney, Manchester United, $16.2 million. And I’m sure none of that is going to prostitutes with nicknames like “Auld Slapper” any more.
12. Francesco Totti, AS Roma, $16.2 million.
13. Michael Ballack, Chelsea, $16 million. He’s had a great turnaround this season and might even be worth it.
14. Frank Lampard, Chelsea, $14.8 million.
15. Alessandro Del Piero, Juventus, $14.3 million.
16. Didier Drogba, Chelsea, $13.4 million.
17. Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United, $12.5 million.
18. Lionel Messi, Barcelona, $11.9 million. The kid is 21. I’m not sure he even shaves yet. But this could buy a lot of razors.
19. Raul (aka Raul Gonzalez Blanco), Real Madrid $10.9 million.
20. Ollie Kahn, Bayern Munich, $10.3 million. Let’s hope he negotiated his latest contract before yesterday’s 0-4 demolition at the hands of Zenit St. Petersburg.
.
So, a little respect!