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The huge amount of money footballers make these days, is not unknown. However, on closer inspection, the amount top players in the world earn every year will blow anyone's mind.
The ridiculous wages the clubs pay their players is just a part of the player's earnings! Some players earn more in sponsorships than what their teammates earn in wages.
Chinese Super League club have started paying their players a huge amount as wages but no player has managed to make the list. Here's a look at the highest-paid footballers in the world after including their sponsorship deals:
#10 Cesc Fabregas - $21 million
Fabregas has not been a regular for Chelsea this season, but his earnings are still the same. The Spaniard makes a whopping $21 million every year.
The former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder is the highest paid player at Chelsea with a weekly wage of £220,00. Including the bonuses, he earns a total of $16 million from the London side.
Apart from the wages and the bonuses at Chelsea, Fabregas has a few sponsorship deals that get him another $5 million every year. PUMA is his main sponsor, and that deal earns him $4 million every year! The 29-year old midfielder also endorses Beats by Dre.
#9 Eden Hazard - $22 million
Hazard is arguably the best player at Chelsea right now. The former Lille star has been in fine form for the Blues this season and has played a vital role in their title run this season.
Despite being the most talented and the most important player at Stamford Bridge, Hazard is not the highest paid player at the club regarding weekly wages. The Belgian earns £200,000 a week at Chelsea and ends up earning a total of $18 million from club every year, including bonuses.
Hazard has a long-term contract with Nike and several other brands as well. He earns a total of $4 million from Topps, Lotus Bakeries, Sina Sports, and mainly, Nike.
#8 Luis Suarez - $23 million
Luis Suarez is one of the best strikers in the world, but only the eighth-best paid. He is clearly among the Top 5 footballers right now, but sponsorship are nowhere close to the others.
Suarez earns a total of $18 million every season from Barcelona. The majority of this is because of his wages that stand at £200,000 a week. With the club winning trophies every year and the Uruguayan finding the net more often than not, his bonuses are nothing small.
The former Liverpool striker takes home a total of $5 million every year from his sponsorship deals. His main sponsor is Adidas while others brands like Pepsi and Abitab also have him as one of their main endorsers. He also had a stunning deal with 888poker, but the online betting company revoked the sponsorship just before he joined Barcelona because of the infamous biting incident in the World Cup 2014 match against Italy.
#7 Sergio Aguero - $24 million
With a total salary of $17 million a season, Sergio Aguero is seventh on the list! The Argentine and Yaya Toure are the highest paid footballers at Manchester City, and they take home £240,000 a week as wages.
Apart from the salary, Aguero gets another $7 million every year thanks to his stunning deals with Pepsi, EA Sports and Puma. The sportswear company also are said to be responsible for $5.7 million of the $7 million sponsorship
#6 Wayne Rooney - $26 million
Manchester United's record goalscorer is not just the highest paid player at the club, but also the highest paid player in the whole league! The striker earns £300,000 a week as wages alone.
Rooney's £300k weekly wages and bonuses end up earning him a total of $20 million a season. Apart from the millions he takes home from the club, Rooney has a few sponsorship deals too.
With Rooney being England's biggest star, major companies have swooped in have and given him many deals. Nike, Samsung and HarperCollins are the major brands that sponsor him, and their deals earn him a total of $6 million ever season.
#5 Gareth Bale - $34 million
A few years back, Gareth Bale was on the verge of joining Birmingham City for £3 million. Since then, he has gone on to dominate the Premier League, become the world's costliest player (before Pogba broke the record) and win 2 Champions League titles!
Playing at Real Madrid is bound to fetch the former Tottenham player a hefty wage. He earns a total of $24 million every season from his salary and bonuses alone at Bernabeu.
His earnings don't stop there. He bags a whopping $10 million from endorsement deals with companies such as Adidas, BT Sport, and Sony Xperia!
#4 Neymar - $36 million
While almost all footballers get the major chunk of their yearly earning from wages, it is the exact opposite for Neymar. The Brazilian gets more money from sponsors than what he gets from Barcelona!
Neymar used to get a total of just $14 million as wages and bonuses from the La Liga giants. He signed a new contract in 2016 worth $26.4 million a year, and his earnings are just going to skyrocket in 2017.
When you get sponsored by 12 companies like Nike, Red Bull, Panasonic, Konami and Gillette, you are bound to earn a fortune. Neymar makes a whopping $22 million from endorsements - $8 million more than the wages he earned in 2016!
#3 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - $37 million
In 2016, Zlatan Ibrahimovic played for Paris Saint-German and Manchester United. The Swedish international took a wage cut to join the Red Devils in the summer and still managed to become the 3rd highest paid player in the world!
The 35-year-old striker took home a total of $30 million as wages and bonuses last year. The major chunk of it was because of the league title and the Coupe de France the won with PSG. He also got a £1 million loyalty bonus from PSG when he left them after completing his contract.
Zlatan jumped from Nike to Adidas in 2016 when he was moving to Old Trafford. He made a total of $7 million in endorsements and ended making a total of $37 million in the whole year.
#2 Lionel Messi - $77 million
Lionel Messi finished runner-up in Copa America, La Liga, Ballon d'Or and UEFA Player of the Year award in 2016 and now finished 2nd in the list of players who earned the most in 2016. The Argentine made a whopping $77 million in the calendar year.
With his wages and bonuses alone getting him $51 million, Messi earned more than most players did even with endorsements! To be precise, the salary he got from Barcelona alone was more than the total earning of Luis Suarez and Eden Hazard combined!
Sponsored by companies like Adidas, Gatorade, EA Sports, and Lays, Messi gets $26 million every year just in these deals. His endorsements alone earn him what Wayne Rooney earns in an entire year!
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo - $82 million
Champions League, EURO 2016, Ballon d'Or, UEFA Player of the Year and now also the highest earning football in 2016! Cristiano Ronaldo had it all his way in the last calendar year.
Real Madrid ended up paying him a total of $53 million in salary and bonuses. The Champions League win alone is rumoured to have got him a huge bonus of $1.75 million.
When you are on top of your game, you're bound to be sponsored by the best companies. Nike, Herbalife, Clear, and Tag Heuer were Ronaldo's major sponsors as he collected a total of $29 million such deals!
