Football players are supposed to be astronomically wealthy, but
David Beckham – the richest player in the world – is only the 616th
richest person in the UK. Thanks to television money and our love
affair with the beautiful game you can make a fortune from running
around and kicking a ball, but don’t expect to be rubbing shoulders
with Bill Gates or Warren Buffett.
Here is our list of Britain's 25 richest players under 30 - the
men who keep Bentley dealerships in business, the men who earn more
in a week than you do in a year, the men who think the credit
crunch is a new breakfast cereal.
= 21. William Gallas (Arsenal), £6 million -
France defender is about to start his eighth season in English
football which means that his bank balance is looking very healthy.
Earns £70,000 a week at the Emirates Stadium after controversial
departure from Chelsea two years ago.
= 21. Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), £6 million -
Dynamic midfield player who is set to add to his fortune after
impressive performances for Spain at Euro 2008. Earns about £50,000
a week at the Emirates Stadium and has multi-million pound deal
with Nike.
= 21. Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), £6
million - Jose Mourinho really did think that
Wright-Phillips was worth £21 million and the peripheral pint-sized
winger really has been earning £65,000 a week for the past three
years.
= 21. Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), £6 million -
Anfield legend who earns £80,000 a week and owns an award-winning
restaurant in Merseyside.
= 21. Fernando Torres (Liverpool), £6 million -
Spain hotshot who has confirmed his status as one of the best
strikers in the world since £26.5 million transfer from Atletico
Madrid to Liverpool last summer. Earns £90,000 a week at Anfield
and another £1.5 million a year from commercial deals in the UK and
Spain.
20. Louis Saha (Manchester United), £7 million
- He shoots, he falls over, he leaves the pitch on a stretcher.
Nothing has gone right for the injury-prone France forward since he
arrived at Old Trafford in 2004 but he has been banking £45,000 a
week.
19. Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur), £8
million - Another player who seems to have spent most of
his career counting his cash in the treatment room. Earns about
£60,000 a week at White Hart Lane and yes, he did play for Real
Madrid – very occasionally.
= 16. Robbie Keane (Liverpool), £9 million -
Has a Carling Cup winners’ medal at home and has enjoyed the
financial benefits from five moves, including recent £19 million
transfer from White Hart Lane to Anfield (depending on the
signing-on fee, Keane will have moved up the list).
= 16. Craig Bellamy (West Ham United), £9
million - Wales forward who missed most of last season
with injuries but still managed to pick up £75,000 a week. That’s
almost £4 million before tax.
= 16. Michael Essien (Chelsea), £10 million -
Ghana midfield player who has just signed a new five-year Stamford
Bridge contract worth about £100,000 a week. Hit the jackpot when
he joined Chelsea from Lyon for £24 million three years ago.
= 13. Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), £11 million -
Cheer up, Nic. You’re pocketing £75,000-a-week and playing for one
of the best teams in the world while the rest of us are worrying
about our gas bills.
= 13. Joe Cole (Chelsea), £11 million -
Chelsea’s Mr Nice Guy has a lucrative boot deal with adidas which
supplements a Stamford Bridge salary that is expected to rise to
£80,000 a week this season.
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= 13. Ashley Cole (Chelsea), £11 million -
England left back who earns £80,000-a-week at Stamford Bridge after
acrimonious move from Arsenal two years ago. Emerged financially
unscathed after disastrous foray into the world of publishing with
'My Story'.
= 11. Kieron Dyer (West Ham United), £12
million - Broke a leg soon after moving to Upton Park last
summer but that has not stopped £80,000 rolling into his bank
account every week.
= 11. Emile Heskey (Wigan Athletic), £12
million - Another player who was born at the right time to
take advantage of rocketing wages in English football. Has earned
excellent wages at Leicester City, Liverpool, Birmingham City and
Wigan Athletic.
= 9. Harry Kewell (Galatasaray), £13 million -
Public Enemy No 1 in Leeds but who cares when you were picking up
£60,000 a week in Liverpool for doing virtually nothing (list
compiled before Kewell's move to Turkey).
= 9. Didier Drogba (Chelsea), £13 million -
Ivory Coast forward who is convinced that he deserves more than
£90,000-a-week at Stamford Bridge. Earns another £20,000-a-week
from endorsements and commercial deals.
8. Damien Duff (Newcastle United), £14 million
- Ireland winger who made a small fortune from his £17 million
transfer from Blackburn Rovers to Chelsea but now has to get by on
£70,000-a-week at St James' Park and Lucozade endorsement.
7. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), £15
million - The Portuguese winker has been in Los Angeles
trying to find new ways of cashing in on his name and fame. Must be
diffuclt having to survive on wages of £120,000 a week.
6. John Terry (Chelsea), £16 million - JT never
sheds a tear when his bank statement drops through the letterbox of
his Surrey mansion every month. Mr Chelsea takes home about
£140,000 a week and has a boot deal with Umbro worth £4
million.
= 4. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), £19 million -
The G-Unit is still sitting pretty despite turning down Roman
Abramovich’s millions three years ago. Earns about £120,000-a-week
at Anfield and supplemented his income last year with a
best-selling autobiography and £1 million-a-year adidas deal.
= 4. Frank Lampard (Chelsea), £19 million -
Having to make do on £115,000 a week a Stamford Bridge while
negotiations have stalled on a new £150,000-a-week 5-year deal.
Also has a £1 million-a-year boot deal with adidas.
3. Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), £28
million - Blockbusting moves to Leeds United and
Manchester United, the advice of superagent Pini Zahavi, shrewd
investments and Nike and Ben Sherman deals mean that the England
defender will always be able to get his round in.
2. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United),
£35 million - Can look forward to a life of luxury
when he retires thanks to £115,000-a-week wages, deals with Nike
and Coca-Cola and the earning power of his other half, Coleen.
1. Michael Owen (Newcastle United), £41 million
- The England forward has been investing his money wisely since he
made his name at Liverpool and is on the verge of signing a new
lucrative contract at Newcastle United. Also has a £2
million-a-year Umbro boot deal.
