1. David Beckham (PSG) – £175m
David Beckham has come to personify an era where footballers have become more than just popular athletes but global, marketable assets who comfortably straddle the worlds of sport and show business.
The London-born midfielder has appeared for Manchester United, Real Madrid, Milan, LA Galaxy, Paris Saint-Germain and England in a hugely-successful playing career that has seen him win league titles in three different countries. He is hoping to add a Ligue1 winners’ medal to his trophy cabinet having recently joined Carlo Ancelotti’s PSG on a short-term contract.
The vast wealth he has managed to accumulate and continues to bring in is testament to his continued appeal, because while Beckham’s retirement from the game edges ever closer, the phenomenal earning power of the 37-year-old former England skipper shows no signs of slowing down.
Britain’s richest sportsman is also the world’s wealthiest footballer. Beckham commanded an estimated £20 million from his off-field commercial activities in 2012, an increase over 2011 – an amazing achievement for a player at the latter stages of his career. Last year he earned income from sponsorship deals and endorsements with the likes of Adidas, H&M and Diet Pepsi in what proved to be his most lucrative year to date.
His involvement in the 2012 Olympic Games last year generated additional commercial interest from the likes of Samsung and Sainsbury’s.
Beckham has eight current or previous company director or secretary appointments. He is paid for certain sponsorship deals through his company Footwork Productions, which manages his work and image rights. In 2011, the company earned £15.2m of which Beckham paid himself £13.3m.
Beckham’s company Footwork Productions is a shop front for his image rights and sponsorship deals. The company has paid him nearly £75m in salary and dividends from 2002 to 2009. The latest annual accounts for the year up to 31 December 2011 reported ‘assets’ worth £10.6m.
The latest annual accounts submitted to Companies House for Beckham Ventures Ltd for the year up to 31 December 2011, reported ‘assets’ worth £4.7m. The company is shared between Beckham, his wife Victoria, 37, a former Spice Girl and a successful fashion designer, and also their manager Simon Fuller.
Another company is Beckham Brand Ltd. As of 31 December 2011, the company reported ‘assets’ worth £5.4m.
He continues to receive £7m a year from Adidas while the midfielder has built up his fortune through lucrative sponsorship deals, which have also included EA Sports and Yahoo, not to mention income from book deals. He has raked in millions from his autobiographies ‘David Beckham: My World’, which was published in 2001 and ‘David Beckham: My Side’, published in 2003.
In 2007, he was reportedly paid £8.5m to launch his fragrance line in the US.
Several years earlier, he moved to Real Madrid for £25m on a four-year contract worth £6m a year from Manchester United after spending 10 years at the Premier League side where he became a global superstar. He helped Real to the 2007 Liga title before joining LA Galaxy.
During his time at the Galaxy, Beckham enjoyed two short loan spells with AC Milan before eventually leaving the MLS club having won the MLS Cup in 2011 and 2012.
He left the Galaxy when hs contract expired at the end of 2012 and in January agreed a five-month deal with PSG until the end of the season. However, the midfielder has agreed to donate all of his PSG salary to a local children’s charity.
Beckham will not earn a penny from PSG after agreeing to waive image rights and any share in merchandising profits, shirt sales, sponsorships or any other club income during his stay at the Ligue 1 big-spenders.
However, he looks set to continue his ambassadorial roles. After successfully representing Great Britain at the London Olympics he has accepted an invitation to become the first global ambassador for Chinese football.
Text courtesy of Goal.com.