The 50(+) Highest Paid Players In World Football

By: chris | March 23rd, 2009

‘Tis that time again. Futebol Finance, a Portuguese site concerned with all things moola as it relates to the beautiful game, unleashed their unofficial 50 – 53 due to ties – highest paid player findings about six weeks ago beyond our unknowing eyes. Having just caught a look at the rankings, it’s quite the interesting list without a great deal of surprises (although Frederic Kanoute above Rooney, Owen & Robinho?).

And if the players aren’t providing shock and awe, the clubs signing the checks are raising even fewer eyebrows. Only six don’t accept their fortune from ManU, Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Inter, Milan or Lyon – and one of those six, Robinho, will surely have a buddy or two on the list before long. Maybe football’s a bit top heavy, then.

Futebol Finance’s research went a little something like this, and it should be noted again these aren’t official so it’s nothing to take to the bank or beat your nearest co-worker over:

The figures are the result of research conducted in more than 30 publications related to the football world. Among which, the largest online newspapers and magazines in countries from 7 major leagues worldwide. The figures are unofficial and approximate, being dependent on new contracts or contract renewals. May over time differences in relation to the figures because of exchange rate changes.

Now without further ado….

[Link]

* – For all those wondering who the hell ‘Pike’ is, an astute Portuguese speaking commenter noticed ‘Lucio’ means ‘pike’ in the language. Another victim of Babelfish/Google translate. Still, however, searching for the identity of this ‘Chuck Puyol’.

Breakdown by team:

8: Chelsea
7: ManU
6: Barca
5: Real Madrid
4: Bayern, AC Milan, Liverpool
3: Juventus, Inter, Lyon
1: Arsenal, Newcastle, Man City, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Roma

Breakdown by league:

22: Prem
13: La Liga
11: Serie A
4: Bayern
3: Ligue 1

Color me unsurprised.

One thing I’ve come to notice is that certain teams and certain leagues have a tendency to make their contracts very ‘bonus heavy’, and oftentimes those bonuses aren’t exactly what one would call ‘unattainable’. Stuff like “spells name correctly”, “doesn’t punch the coach”, “showers at least twice weekly”, etc. So conventional wisdom might dictate a certain player makes so much money whereas their contract reads differently, as least from a technical standpoint.

As for the players, a couple surprises – not from this angle, at least – but nothing which forecasts the apocalypse. Kanoute in the top 20 comes as a surprise, but then I’ve never been an Andalusian expert. That Michael Owen’s salary is still being paid by Newcastle and not his healthcare provider does raise the eyebrows a bit, too. And kudos to Willy Sagnol for making the list despite being freshly retired (very, very freshly).

At the top it’s all the standards, though it doesn’t seem Robinho makes quite as much as initially thought. Then again, those bonuses/image rights and all that good stuff could send that total skyrocketing for all we know (this goes for Mr. Beckham as well).

Even though Zlatan reigns supreme, it might not be enough to keep him in Milan past the summer. And I genuinely shudder to think where Kaka would stand had the Man City deal gone through. Ditto for Ronaldo, if/when he moves Madrid-side…