The 50 Best Paid Footballers in the World

Prepare to be jealous. And if you’re Darren Bent then prepare to be embarrassed. A Portuguese finance website recently released a list (below) of the 50 highest earning footballers in the world, and the exact amounts they pocket for playing (in €uros.) No video game or hair gel endorsements are included, just the annual amount each player receives in salary.

Top earner is Ricky Kaka, who pulls in nine million euros a year from Milan. Because he’s worth it. Ronaldinho comes a close second, getting just over eight and half million euros. He used to be worth every penny. There are one or two shocks too, and one or two players who aren’t exactly earning their money. Does Darren Bent really deserve to be the 19th best paid footballer in the world?

1. Ricardo Kaka (AC Milan) 9.000.000 €
2. Ronaldinho Gaucho (FC Barcelona) 8.520.000 €
3. Frank Lampard (Chelsea FC) 8.160.000 €
4. John Terry (Chelsea FC) 8.160.000 €
5. Fernando Torres (Liverpool FC) 7.920.000 €
6. Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea FC) 7.800.000 €
7. Michael Ballack (Chelsea FC) 7.800.000 €
8. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester Utd) 7.680.000 €
9. Thierry Henry (FC Barcelona) 7.680.000 €
10. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool FC) 7.680.000 €
11. Didier Drogba (Chelsea FC) 7.380.000 €
12. Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd) 7.320.000 €
13. Iker Casillas (CF Real Madrid) 7.200.000 €
14. Michael Owen (Newcastle Utd) 6.720.000 €
15. Sol Campbell (Portsmouth) 6.600.000 €
16. Raul Gonzalez (CF Real Madrid) 6.420.000 €
17. Ruud Van Nistelrooy (CF Real Madrid) 6.420.000 €
18. Rio Ferdinand (Manchester Utd) 6.060.000 €
19. Darren Bent (Tottenham Hotspur) 5.940.000 €
20. Carlos Tevez (Manchester Utd) 5.880.000 €
21. Fabio Cannavaro (CF Real Madrid) 5.880.000 €
22. Luca Toni (Bayern Munich) 5.520.000 €
23. Robinho (CF Real Madrid) 5.520.000 €
24. Francesco Totti (AS Roma) 5.460.000 €
25. Arjen Robben (CF Real Madrid) 5.340.000
26. Ryan Giggs (Manchester Utd) 5.220.000 €
27. Michael Essien (Chelsea FC) 5.040.000 €
28. Adriano Lima (Internazionale) 5.004.000 €
29. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Internazionale) 5.004.000 €
30. Patrick Vieira (Internazionale) 5.004.000 €
31. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus FC) 5.004.000 €
32. Samuel Eto’o (FC Barcelona) 5.004.000 €
33. Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona) 5.004.000 €
34. Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid) 5.004.000 €
35. Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich) 4.944.000 €
36. Edwin Van der Sar (Manchester Utd) 4.860.000 €
37. Fernando Morientes (Valência) 4.860.000 €
38. Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus FC) 4.800.000 €
39. Harry Kewell (Liverpool FC) 4.800.000 €
40. Djibril Cisse (O.Marseille) 4.800.000 €
41. Joe Cole (Chelsea FC) 4.680.000 €
42. Pedro Pauleta (Paris SG) 4.608.000 €
43. Juninho Pernanbucano (O.Lyon) 4.560.000 €
44. David Beckham (LA Galaxy) 4.500.000 €
45. David Trezeguet (Juventus FC) 4.500.000 €
46. Sidney Govou (O.Lyon) 4.500.000 €
47. Deco (FC Barcelona) 4.500.000 €
48. Gianluca Zambrotta (FC Barcelona) 4.500.000 €
49. Petr Cech (Chelsea FC) 4.320.000 €
50. Antonio Cassano (Sampdoria) 4.200.000 €

Inara over at Lyon Offside spotted this first and she also worked out how many players each club has in the top 50:

Chelsea (8 players), Real Madrid (6 players), Barcelona (6 players), Manchester United (6 players), Liverpool (3 players), Inter (3 players), Juventus (3 players), Bayern Munich (2 players), Lyon (2 players), AC Milan (1 player), Portsmouth (1 player), Newcastle (1 player), Spurs (1 player), Roma (1 player), Atletico Madrid (1 player), Valencia (1 player), Marseille (1 player), PSG (1 player), LA Galaxy (1 player), Sampdoria (1 player)

The top 50 highest salaries are spread amongst just twenty clubs, and all but LA Galaxy are European. And 26 of these players (over half) play for just four clubs – Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United.

The list really brings home just how much cash Chelsea are splashing out (especially on a waster like Andriy Shevchenko) and how much Premier League clubs are frittering away in general. The likes of Spurs, Liverpool and Newcastle must have regrets about how much they’re paying Darren Bent, Harry Kewell and Michael Owen versus what they’re getting in return. And despite all the Premier League salaries in this top fifty, one club is noticeable by its absence. And right now that club is three points clear at the top.

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Category: World Football