David Beckham toppled by Lionel Messi as Barcelona star leads football earner charts on £570,000 a week!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 @ 9:41 PM
Lionel Messi earned a staggering £29.7million in the last year, replacing David Beckham as the world's highest-earning footballer.
A study by France Football magazine found that the England midfielder had finally been toppled after two years on the top spot, though he stays above Cristiano Ronaldo in second place.
The £200,000 a week after-tax deal that Ronaldo signed when he left Manchester United for Real Madrid makes him the biggest earner by football salary, but Messi's burgeoning commercial deals and a £3.6m bonus for winning six trophies with Barcelona put him out in front.
The 22-year-old signed a new contract at the Nou Camp before Christmas guaranteeing him take-home pay of at least £180,000 a week, but extras pushed his earnings to more than £570,000 a week last year.
United star Wayne Rooney, arguably the best player in the world today, does not reach the top 10, but his former team-mate Carlos Tevez makes No 7 on the list.
The Manchester City forward apparently earned £13.8m last year - £266,000 a week - while Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard was just behind on £12.8m.
Jose Mourinho is the highest earning coach, with the Inter Milan boss picking up £11.7m, while last year's No 1 Luiz Felipe Scolari fell to third with £8.5m after Chelsea finally stopped topping up his gold-plated contract with Uzbekistan side Bunyodkur.
Roberto Mancini jumped to second on £10.8m after taking the Manchester City job in December.
Source: The Daily Mail