28. Alessandro Del Piero (Sydney FC) – £21m
The World Cup winner left his beloved Juventus for Sydney FC last summer after 19 years in Turin during which he scored 290 goals in 705 appearances.
He is Juventus’ all-time leading goalscorer in both the Champions League and Serie A, and was vital as they won six league titles and a Champions League during his spell at the club.
The Italian is used to being a crowd favourite following his success in Turin and interest in him has been whipped into a frenzy following his transfer to the A-League.
Now 38, he still commands a £31,000-a-week salary with as much as £500,000 available in annual bonuses – he is the highest paid player ever in the A-League. After some initial doubts, Del Piero is expected to commit to Sydney for the optional second year of his contract too.
His wealth has been building for a substantial period. In 2000 he was thought to be the world’s best-paid football player from salary, bonuses and endorsements.
He maintains a lucrative sponsorship with Adidas, while in his prime he was one of football’s most marketed players. He has enjoyed sponsorship and image rights deals with Fiat, EA Sports, Suzuki, Pepsi, Bliss, Cepu and Walt Disney.