2011 Highest Paid Footballers

Source of Wealth: FootballNationality:

Forbes Magazine released it’s 2011 World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players with David Beckham topping the list.Inter’s Cameroonian striker and African Football Of The Year,Samuel Eto’o currently Africa’s highest-paid footballer come in 10th to be the only African Footballer on the Forbes list.

The best players around the globe continue to pull in deals despite the economic downturn. The Forbes income figures include salaries, bonuses and endorsements earned in 2010.

No. 1 David Beckham

2010 Earnings:$40 million

Current Club:Los Angeles Galaxy

Beckham’s endorsement deal with Adidas is the biggest in the sport thanks to royalties from soccer apparel and cleats as well as lifestyle lines like ObyO.

No. 2 Cristiano Ronaldo

2010 Earnings:$38 million

Current Club:Real Madrid

Ronaldo is Facebook’s most popular athlete with 24 million fans, which is part of the attraction for sponsors like Nike, Armani, Coca-Cola and Castrol.

No. 3 Lionel Messi

2010 Earnings:$32 million

Current Club:Barcelona

Messi’s status as the world’s best player has started to translate into endorsement opportunities. The Flea has deals with Adidas, Lay’s, Konami, Audemars Piguet, Chery and AirEuropa.

No. 4 Ricardo Kaka

2010 Earnings:$25 million

Current Club:Real Madrid

The Brazilian midi was featured on the cover of EA Sports FIFA Soccer 11. The FIFA franchise has sold 100 million units of the popular soccer game for Electronic Arts.

No. 5 Ronaldinho

2010 Earnings:$24 million

Current Club:Flamengo

The two-time FIFA World Player of the Year joined Brazilian club Flamengo in January after two seasons with AC Milan. His new deal runs until 2014.

No. 6 Thierry Henry

2010 Earnings:$21 million

Current Club:New York Red Bulls

Henry bought a New York City apartment for $14.9 million after move to MLS last year. His lucrative Gillette partnership wrapped up at the end of 2010.

No. 7 Wayne Rooney

2010 Earnings:$20 million

Current Club:Manchester United

Coca-Cola and Rooney recently parted ways, ending a deal that had been worth $1 million annually. Remaining sponsors include Nike and Electronic Arts.

No. 8 (tie) Frank Lampard

2010 Earnings:$17 million

Current Club:Chelsea

Lampard earns $11 million in salary on the pitch. His 135 career goals are the most ever by a Premier League midfielder.

No. 8 (tie) Zlatan Ibrahimovic

2010 Earnings:$17 million

Current Club:AC Milan

Barcelona paid a $94 million transfer fee to Inter Milan in 2009 for the rights to Ibrahimovic, which was the second-highest transfer fee ever.

No. 10 Samuel Eto’o

2010 Earnings: $15 million

Current Club:Inter Milan

The Cameroonian striker counts Puma and Ford as sponsors. He has won the African Player of the Year award a record four times.

The former Inter Milan striker joined Russian soccer club Anzhi Makhachkala in a three-year deal with an annual salary of €20.5 million Euros or $28.8 million at current exchange rates. The deal made Eto’o the highest-paid player in the history of soccer. Dwarfing the earnings of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo. The highest-paid player in the game was Cristiano Ronaldo who earns an estimated 13 million Euros ($19 million). Anzhi reached an agreement with Internazionale at $38.9 million transfer fee on 23 August 2011. Anzhi is owned by Russian investor Suleiman Kerimov, who is the 118th richest person in the world with a net worth of $7.8 billion.