22. Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich) – £29m
Franck Ribery joined German giants Bayern Munich from Marseille in 2007 for a fee of £21 million – then a club record. Since then he has picked up two Bundesliga titles and been a runner-up in the Champions League twice, scoring at a rate of a goal every three games.
The 29-year-old winger became the highest paid player in Bayern’s history when he was offered a five-year contract worth £170,000-a-week in 2010, with an additional £488,000 available in bonuses.
An established and high-profile French international with 69 caps, he enjoys off-field earnings through deals with Nike (£1m-a-year) and EA Sports. He also starred in a one-off TV show called ‘The Franck Ribery TV show’, which was aired in France and sponsored by Nike.
His commerciality suffered a blow in 2010 after he was indicted for discretions in his personal life, for which he will stand trial later this year. Also in 2010 the French Football Federation opened a disciplinary case against Ribery and four other French players including Nicolas Anelka and Patrice Evra who went on strike at the World Cup in South Africa.