Top 5 Highest Paid Football Players Europe
European football commands a huge fan following. These leagues are also some of the most lucrative football associations in the world. Naturally, football leagues in Europe have also some of the richest athletes in the history of sports. Here are some of those footballers that made it to the recent Forbes’ list of the wealthiest active stars in the European leagues:
1.) Ronaldino of Serie A Milan. This great Brazilian footballer is currently making at least £6 million a year with Milan. Upon coming over to Europe, he was initially offered by Barcelona a €32,250,000 transfer contract which he eventually accepted. He stayed with the Catalan club for 5 years before joining the Italian Serie A Milan.
2.) David Beckham of Los Angeles Galaxy. Known throughout the world as the husband of the former member of the famous Spice Girls Victoria Adam, David Beckam has also solidly built his own reputation as one of the top grossing football stars in Europe and America. Although he is currently playing for Los Angeles Galaxy in the US, Beckam was a key player of Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Milan before coming over of the US. As such, he is considered to be one of the richest football stars to date due to team contracts, endorsements, and other revenue sources. His value is worth over US $300,000 million.
3.) Ronaldo of the Corinthians. Like Ronaldino, Ronaldo also hails from Brazil and is considered to be one of the richest athletes in the world. He played for Milan and Real Madrid in his lengthy career, excluding his time spent on his country teams. His offer for Read Madrid was recorded to have reached €39 million. Due to injuries, he grew out of favor with Real Madrid’s manager and decided to transfer to Milan. He was acquired by Milan after an agreement of €7.5 million transfer contract.
4.) Wayne Rooney of Manchester United. Many fans and media analysts like him for his demeanor in the field, and most especially for his strong performance as a role player in the team. He formerly played for the youth team Everton but was offered by Manchester a £25.6 million transfer contract in 2004. he played well together with his other famous co-stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Scholes which endeared him greatly to the fans of the club, and hence, adding to his value as a great footballer in the league. He is said to command just well below £100 million mark on his next contract.
5.) Michael Ballack of Bundesliga. This outstanding German footballer is also one of the top grossing players in Bayer Leverkusen league in Germany. He was offered a €4.1 million contract in 1999 for a transfer to his current team. Bayern Munich offered another €12.9 million. He then moves to the Premier League by joining the Chelsea in mid-2006 where he won his first English honors. He again moved back to his former team, Bayer by signing a two-year contract for an undisclosed amount.
These players are undisputed league leaders in their own right as they have the stats to prove it. Each of them has played, at one time in their career, in the Premier League. Together, they are the epitome of the best of the European football has to offer.