Have you ever wondered just how much the top footballers earn and how much they are worth?
Football is easily the most popular sport in the world followed by over 3 billion fans all across the globe. Players who have managed to transcend the sport have become cult icons and are among the richest and most famous people in the world.
Generally, players who ply their trade in the top leagues of Spain, England and Italy are among the top earners but there are a few exceptions.
Along with 6 figure weekly wages, the top players also bag multimillion dollar sponsorship deals as well as personal branding and image rights.
All the players on the list are worth well over $50m.
Take a look at the 20 richest active footballers below(various sources have been considered including Forbes and Celebrity Net Worth)
Also read: Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s salary and endorsements
#20 Gerard Pique: Net worth - $60m
The Barcelona defender has a net worth of about $60m thanks partly due to his salary at Barcelona where he earns $120,000 per week as well as a number of endorsement deals.
Pique has struck up deals with leading brands all over the world including Nike, EA Sports, and several others.The Spanish star has been a model for Mango clothes for several years. He was also the face of EA Sports’ FIFA 2012 in Spain. He is a major shareholder in Bas Alimentaria, a Catalan meat company.
He also has a tie up with leading sportswear brand Nike. Add to that the success of his gaming company, Kerad Games, which makes several social network video games including Golden Manager and it is no surprise that Pique easily makes the list of the top 20 richest footballers.
Pique also has an endorsement deal with Covergirl cosmetics.
It doesn't end there for the 29-year-old. He has a mansion in Barcelona worth $5m which he bought with wife Shakira back in 2011.
Also read: Neymar’s salary and endorsements
#19 Steven Gerrard: Net worth - $60m
Steven Gerrard is a Liverpool legend who played for 17 seasons at Anfield. He left The Reds in 2015 to play out his career in America and is ready to come back to Liverpool if they offer him a job. He really does not need one though, as he is currently worth more than $50m.
Gerrard enjoyed a £125,000 per week salary at Liverpool which was supplemented by a number of sponsorship deals including one with Lucozade as well a book deal.
His company Steven Gerrard Promotions has a net worth of over £4m. He also has an extremely impressive property portfolio including a Dubai skyscraper, two properties in Merseyside worth about €6m as well as an investment in Warehouse Kitchen and Bar.
The former England international also has deals with Adidas and Jaguar which add to his wealth nicely.
#18 Sergio Aguero: Net worth - $60m
Aguero signed a new contract at Manchester City which earns him a whopping £220,000 per week without bonuses. According to Forbes, his endorsements with Pepsi, Gilette, Playstation and Hugo boss bring him another €7m per year.
Aguero signed a deal with Puma way back in 2012 which earns him about £1.5 million. He is currently their highest paid football player. He is also the global icon for Pepsi and earns about $1m.
Aguero earns about $3m from sponsorship deals annually.
#17 Franck Ribery: Net worth - $67m
Franck Ribery signed a new contract at Bayern Munich in 2013 which earns him about €14m per year excluding bonuses which add another €1m to his wallet.
The Bayern Munich winger also has a €1m sponsorship deal with Nike. Ribery has been a Nike Vapor wearer for a very long time and is an ideal candidate to showcase Nike’s variety. He was a part of Nike's highly successful Pink Panther advertising campaign for the Vapor 5 release.
Ribery who is one of the highest paid players in the game at the moment is thought to draw about $2-3m from endorsements annually, which makes him worth well over $50m.
#16 Yaya Toure: Net worth - $70m
When it comes to salaries, Manchester City pay their players ridiculous amounts. Yaya Toure who is estimated to have a net worth of around $70 million, earns a massive £220,000 per week thanks to the contract he signed way back in April 2013. This adds up to about $15 million per year in salaries along with other bonuses.
The Ivorian has a sponsorship deal with German sportswear manufacturer Puma from which he earns a cool $2,50,0000 a year. The deal, in fact, gives Toure so much influence that he managed to convince the company to distribute apparel to the underprivileged kids in Africa.
Toure also earns another $1m through his endorsement with Nissan which brings his annual endorsement earnings to about $3m according to Forbes. He is currently the third richest African footballer behind Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o.
#15 John Terry: Net worth - $70m
A significant portion of John Terry’s earnings is from his on-field salary. At Chelsea, Terry has consistently earned about £150,000 per week for the last 5-10 years and that could skyrocket if he decides to end his playing career at China.
Terry has also made serious money through real estate. The Chelsea defender made a huge profit of €13.5m after selling his nine-bedroom mansion in Surrey for €21m.
The 35-year-old has recently seen his endorsement deals suffer due to a number of controversies though. Umbro, who had a long-time sponsorship deal with the former England international, dropped him after allegations of racial abuse, a case that eventually went to trial.
All in all, Terry still makes it to the top 20 with a net worth of $70m.
#14 Gianluigi Buffon: Net worth - $72m
Gianluigi Buffon is the only keeper on this list. In his 15 seasons at Juventus, he has consistently earned over €5m per year. A major portion of Buffon’s fortune comes from his investment in a manufacturing company Zucchi.
In just a few months, the share price flew up over 100%, earning him €19.5m. His coffers have been further boosted by endorsement deals with Pepsi, Puma and Fiat.
#13 Bastian Schweinsteiger: Net worth - $80m
The Germany midfielder has been earning €10m per year since 2012 at Bayern Munich. That increased to about $19m per year at Manchester United.
Schweinsteiger is a global ambassador for Adidas and has a lucrative deal with Audi. The German’s other endorsements include Right Guard, Funny-Frisch Crisps, Nivea, and Beats by Dr. Dre. He ropes in about $3m through endorsements annually.
The 32-year-old sits pretty on a fortune worth just under a $100m.
#12 Ronaldinho: Net Worth - $90m
Ronaldinho has a total net worth just under $100m . Although not part of the elite group of footballers, anymore, Ronaldinho has continued to earn the big bucks.
Apart from the $10 million annual salary for his tenure with Barcelona, Ronaldinho also had stints with Atletico Mineiro where he bagged €2.7 million a year and was a member of Querétaro FC on a bumper €2.5 million per year contract.
Ronaldinho appeared in ad campaigns for Pepsi and Nike and has endorsement deals with Gatorade and Denon. He also has houses in Spain and Brazil and usually pulls in about $2 million in endorsements annually.
In 2015, Ronaldinho was the sixth most popular person on Facebook with 31 million Facebook fans.
#11 Didier Drogba: Net worth - $90m
Didier Drogba is the second richest African footballer behind only Samuel Eto'o. Drogba's earnings sky rocketed after he signed a lucrative deal with Chelsea where he earned an impressive $170,000 a week.
After leaving England, Drogba signed for Shanghai Shenhua where he was given a simply enormous fee of $325,000 a week.
He then moved to Galatasaray where he drew an impressive $5.2 million a year. The Ivorian then returned to Chelsea and now plays in Canada for Montreal Impact where he is sure to be earning pretty big.
Add to that a number of sponsorship deals with Nike, Konami, Pepsi, Samsung and Orange France and it is no surprise he features on this list.
#10 Frank Lampard: Net worth - $95m
Frank Lampard has easily managed to crack the top 10 due to his earnings at club level where he pulled in over €35 million in total earnings as well as an outstanding property portfolio. He also has deals with Nike and Adidas where he received more than $2 million a year.
One of England’s richest footballers, Lampard also owns a townhouse in London worth £8.5 million, a three-bedroom Surrey lodge worth £750,000, three apartments in London’s Docklands, a £165,000 East London terrace home, two £500,000 Cambridge properties, a £187,000 Leyton flat and a four-bedroom Barcelona apartment.
Lampard earns around $4m through sponsorship deals annually.
#9 Eden Hazard: Net worth - $100m
Eden Hazard has consistently been one of Chelsea’s highest earners and is currently worth about $100m. The Belgian ropes in about £10.5m annually which equates to about £200,000 per week.
Off the pitch, Hazard has endorsements with Nike, since the age of 16. He reportedly snubbed German manufacturers Adidas to stay with his beloved Nike and is one of their leading faces along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
He also signed a 2-year deal with Chinese sports company Sina Sports in 2015 and will appear regularly on the online platform to interact with Chinese fans.
Annual endorsements contribute about 3m to $4m to the Belgian’s coffers and with several years of football in him, he could be in the top 3 sooner rather than later.
#8 Samuel Eto’o: Net Worth - $100m
Samuel Eto'o is the most decorated African footballer of all time and also the highest earning African. Eto’o was at one point of time the highest paid player when he was on a $25 million a year contract at Anzhi, which earned him half his fortune.
Eto’o also has endorsements worth €5 million a year with PUMA and Ford. A fashion icon in his own right, he also has tie-ups with leading fashion label John Richmond.
The Cameroon striker has a collection of properties which includes a luxury mansion in Moscow and houses in Russia and Douala Mansion in the capital of Cameroon’s Littoral Region.
He also has a collection of luxury cars including the Bugatti Veyron, Maybach Xenatec, Aston Martin One-77, Aston Martin V12 Zagato and a few more.
#7 Kaka: Net Worth - $110m
Kaka has a net worth of over $100m. Currently playing in the MLS, he is on a $7.2 million per year contract, easily the highest paid player in the United States.
Kaka also made a significant amount of his money at AC Milan and Real Madrid.
Off the pitch, Kaka has signed a 7-year modeling contract with Armani worth a jaw-dropping $5.5 million per year. Kaka has property all over the globe, with the primary one being his €7 million mansion in Madrid.
Endorsements with Pepsi, EA Sports, Adidas and Sony add nicely to his profile. He also has a collection of luxury cars including the Audi Q7, Hyundai Santa Fe 2014 edition and Audi RS6 Sportsback
#6 Gareth Bale: Net worth - $110m
Gareth Bale comfortably makes the list of richest footballers thanks to his contract at Real Madrid which sees him earn £256,000-a-week. Throw in some international football and his earnings rise to $25.5 million.
Off the field, Bale has a six-year contract worth $35m with Adidas, which he signed back in 2014. The Welshman also signed a 3-year deal with BT Sport which will see him doing commentary in front of the camera. The best Welsh footballer of all time, Bale is featured on the covers of the British and middle eastern versions of FIFA 14.
The 27-year-old owns a luxury home worth over $10m in the La Finca neighborhood in the greater half of Madrid.
He has also copyrighted the Eleven of Hearts logo which he uses as his standard celebration after a goal.
#5 Wayne Rooney: Net worth - $145m
Wayne Rooney is the highest earning Premier League player thanks to his £300,000 per week deal at Manchester United which works out to about $26 million per year.
Rooney, though, has had a bit of a tough time due to a number of controversies. Rooney earns about $3m to $4m through endorsement deals with Nike and Samsung, he still trails Ronaldo and Messi by a significant margin.
To add to this, EA Sports and Coca Cola elected to end their partnership with Rooney after he was embroiled in controversy.
The leading English goalscorer has a significant investment in real estate. He has properties in Dubai, Florida and Barbados. He also has an ongoing book deal to pen five books over 12 years with HarperCollins.
Rooney also has a collection of luxury cars including Bentley Continental GTC, Range Rover Overfinch, Bentley Continental GTC, and Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.
#4 Neymar: Net worth - $150m
The Brazilian poster boy is fourth on the list of richest footballers at just the age of 24. Neymar earns about $14m annually through his performances on the field i.e. his contract at Barcelona.
His earnings off the field will blow your mind. His contract at Nike which he signed at the age of 19 gives him about $9.5m a year.
He also has long-term contracts with Panasonic and Volkswagon as well as more deals with Taco Bell, Unilever, PayPal and at least 10 other brands.
Neymar has also started his own personalized brand logo which features the letters N.J and R (In reference to Neymar Junior). The deals push Neymar’s earnings through endorsements to a whopping $23m.
Neymar was also rated by SportsPro magazine as the most marketable athlete in the world ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
#3 Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Net worth - $160m
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a net worth of over $150 million. After signing for Manchester United, he is set to receive a monstrous $260,000 per week in salary.
An extremely marketable athlete, Zlatan has over 4 million followers on Twitter and about 15 million on Instagram.
Ibrahimovic has recently signed a lucrative sponsorship deal with NIKE which would see him earn around $3 million a year. He also has deals with Nivea, Xbox, Volvo, and Dressman.
Apart from his signature cologne and A-Z sportswear, the Swede most recently signed a deal with Volvo which is set to make his wallet just that much bigger.
The Manchester United striker also owns a significant amount of property all over the world including an island near Stockholm.
#2 Lionel Messi: Net worth - $280m
Messi is the currently the second highest paid footballer in the world earning about €21m per year at Barcelona after his contract extension in 2014. Messi also has a number of lucrative sponsorship and endorsement deals.
His contract with Adidas makes him the face of the world’s second largest sporting brand and earns him around $24m a year. His other tie-ups are with Pepsi, Samsung, Walkers and EA sports which collectively contribute about $5m to $10m to his wealth.
Collectively, Messi earns about $80m a year which makes him the second highest-earning football player in the world.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo: Net worth - $320m
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world and is the richest and by far the most marketable.
Ronaldo is thought to have a net worth of over $400m largely due to a number of international and domestic endorsements but we conservatively estimate it at just over $300m. Ronaldo currently earns about €17m a year at Real Madrid, which is set to last for another couple of years.
But a lion’s share of his wealth is attributed to his off the pitch endeavors.
Ronaldo has the fourth most lucrative endorsement deal in the sporting world with Nike from which he receives around $22m a year. Apart from that, the Portuguese ace also has deals with brands like Tag Heuer, Armani, Samsung, Konami and others from which he bags another $10m a year.
Ronaldo has also very recently moved into the real estate market. After making a huge investment in Pestana hotels, he is now a leading partner and will have hotels valued at $80m, with the CR7 branding. The hotels are set to be located in Lisbon, New York, Madrid and Funchal. The Real Madrid superstar also has a collection of properties in Spain and England which includes an 8600 sq. feet mansion.
If you thought that was it, you're wrong. The 31-year old has his own branded underwear and shoes line which drops another $10m into his pocket.
The three-time Ballon d'Or winner is the world’s most popular athlete with over 200 million social media followers.
