• Premier League

Rooney trails in money league

ESPN staff
March 18, 2014
Wayne Rooney appeared to be eyeing the exit before signing a new Manchester United contract last month © Getty Images
Enlarge

Wayne Rooney may have stunned the Premier League with his bumper new Manchester United contract but it has only made him the fourth-highest earning player in the world, according to France Football magazine.

Rooney, 28, had looked likely to leave Old Trafford before he signed a five-and-a-half year deal to stay last month. The contract, including incentives, reportedly took him beyond the £300,000-a-week barrier, making him the first player to reach that level in the Premier League.

It is estimated he will bring in £20 million in total this year by the weekly French magazine and his annual salary of £15.9m is actually the highest of any player in the top 20 of the rankings. However, he still trails the top three of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar in overall earnings because of his lower endorsement revenue.

Messi, who topped the chart for three successive years before being deposed by David Beckham in 2013, weighs in at a global total of £34.3m. A whopping £21.8m of that comes from endorsements, with boot suppliers adidas providing him with some £6.7m annually alone.

Ronaldo's basic salary of £14.2m helped put him in second place on £33m while it is estimated Neymar will make £24.2m this year.

Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is fifth on 19.7m, just ahead of Monaco forward Radamel Falcao. Ibrahimovic's PSG team-mate Thiago Silva is eigth, sandwiched in between Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and Chelsea's Eden Hazard, while Franck Ribery, of Bayern Munich, rounds out the top ten.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
ESPN staff Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices