A look at the most valuable footballers on the planet.
10. Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
After a fantastic few years at Real Madrid, where Mesut Ozil undoubtedly established himself as a world class talent on the biggest stage, Arsenal made the 24-year-old the most expensive purchase in their history this summer as he arrived at the Emirates Stadium for £42.4m. This move also saw him become the most expensive German player in history, as well as the Gunners’ highest earner with wages of over £200,000 per week.
The signing of Ozil rather stole the show in terms of transfer stories this summer, and it is a sign of the high esteem he is held in that so many neutrals as well as Arsenal fans have greeted his move to the Premier League with such excitement and anticipation, and that his former team-mates at the Bernabeu were so surprised and disappointed at his departure. Although a quietly skillful and intelligent player, Ozil’s talents are greatly appreciated and his impact already at Arsenal has been obvious, with Arsene Wenger’s side enjoying a huge turnaround in their fortunes this season.
Off the pitch, Ozil has a sponsorship agreement with Adidas, for whom he also designed his own personalised logo, featuring the letter O with the German umlaut inside it. Upon joining the major sports manufacturers, they said: “We are so happy to have Mesut Ozil joining us. He is one of the stellar personalities in German and international football and will enhance our portfolio of great players worldwide.”
If Ozil can continue his fine form at Arsenal and lift the club to new heights, he will certainly continue to earn the respect of his peers and supporters worldwide.
9. Yaya Toure (Manchester City)
Yaya Toure’s mammoth wages of around £240,000 a week put him up there with the best paid players in the world, and with his superb performances for Manchester City over the years and his incredible influence at the club it is easy to see why.
The powerful midfielder is an unstoppable force on his day, driving forward with superb technique and scoring some vital goals, as well as filling in defensively due to his tremendous strength and physique. Toure is almost the complete footballer, and played a major role in guiding the club to their first league title for 44 years in 2012. The Ivory Coast international has also enjoyed great success at his former club Barcelona, with whom he won an historic treble in the 2008/09 season. In terms of individual honours, the 30-year-old has also been named African Footballer of the Year twice, in 2011 and 2012, as well as being named in the Premier League team of the season after City’s title win in 2012.
Toure has had to work hard to get where he is today, famously failing a trial for Arsenal in his days as a youngster, and working his way up through several smaller European clubs such as Beveren, Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos and Monaco before finding his way to Barcelona and later Manchester City.
Off the pitch, Toure has a lucrative long-term sponsorship deal with Puma, confirming him as one of the biggest and most marketable names in world football today.
8. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
Pictured here alongside more glamorous stars Cristiano Ronaldo and his Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta is actually regarded by many as being the true genius in making Barcelona and Spain tick. The 29-year-old has been a major part in some of the most successful periods in the history of both his club and national team, winning six La Liga titles and three Champions League titles with Barca, and helping Spain dominate the international stage with three major tournament wins in a row, starting with Euro 2008, followed up by the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where it was his goal that won Spain the final against Holland, and again in Euro 2012.
Iniesta is almost the embodiment of the footballing philosophies of both Barcelona and Spain, with his passing, vision, intelligence and technique making him the perfect midfielder for both sides in their ‘tiki-taka’ style, which has earned both teams great plaudits over the last few years as they have swept all before them.
A product of Barcelona’s famed La Masia youth academy, Iniesta has never commanded a transfer fee, though his market value is estimated at around £57m, though it would likely take a great deal more to convince Barcelona to sell him.
A boyhood Albacete fan, Iniesta is a majority shareholder at the struggling Segunda Division club, with his brand of wines appearing on their shirts as a sponsor. He also has an endorsement deal with Spanish ice cream brand Kalise. Clearly a capable businessman as well as immensely talented footballer, it’s no surprise to see Iniesta up there with the most valuable footballers in the world.
7. Radamel Falcao (Monaco)
A player who was talked about all summer, Radamel Falcao eventually made a big-money move to mega-rich Ligue 1 club Monaco for a fee of £51m, putting him up there with the most expensive transfers in football history, and cementing his place as one of the best players in the world at the moment.
Boasting a tremendous goal-scoring record at former clubs Atletico Madrid and Porto, Falcao has earned a great reputation as one of the deadliest strikers in world football, and this fine goal-scoring form saw him attract huge interest from some of the world’s biggest clubs this summer, including Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, though he eventually opted to join in the revolution happening at Monaco under wealthy Russian owner Dmitry Rybolovlev, which also saw the likes of Joao Moutinho, James Rodriguez and Geoffrey Kondogbia join the club this summer.
Falcao is undoubtedly the biggest name of the lot though, and his world class potential could be enough to propel the newly-promoted side to genuine contenders for the Ligue 1 title against fellow big-spenders PSG this season, and Falcao will only improve his brand further if he can continue to add silverware to his already impressive collection, with a league title at Porto as well as two Europa League wins and the European Super Cup and Copa Del Rey final for Atletico Madrid last season.
Shortly after signing for Monaco, Falcao also agreed lucrative sponsorship deals with luxury watch makers Hublot and sports manufacturer Puma, adding to his already vast wealth that he can enjoy tax-free, due to Monaco being a tax haven.
6. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Scorer of one of the most famous goals in Premier League history, Sergio Aguero is no surprise as a major inclusion on this most valuable players list. The talented Argentine is one of the best strikers in the world on his day, and has been for many years now, since joining Spanish side Atletico Madrid for £20m when he was still just a teenager. His fine form in La Liga, which saw him score an impressive 101 goals in 234 games, then earned him another big-money move to Premier League moneybags Manchester City, who paid a massive £38m to land him in 2011.
His world class ability in front of goal showed immediately, as he settled into life very quickly in England, scoring 23 goals to fire Roberto Mancini’s side to their first title for 44 years, with the final goal being that all-important and thrilling last-minute winner against Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the season that saw them just sneak in front of arch rivals Manchester United on goal difference. Aguero’s goal sparked wild celebrations and the scenes of his goal and joyous run around the pitch will surely be remembered as an iconic moment in the history of the English game. His fine performances saw him voted Manchester City’s player of the year for 2012 as well.
The 25-year-old also has a £5m sponsorship deal with Puma, who recognise his tremendous ability has earned him a reputation as one of the most famous names in world football at the moment, and a valuable asset to his club.
5. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Although Wayne Rooney was not at his brilliant best for much of last season, the interest shown in the Manchester United striker this summer illustrates just how valuable a commodity he is, with a long queue of Europe’s top clubs thought to have been chasing him when he seemed set to leave Old Trafford.
In the end, United held firm and Rooney stuck around, and now looks to be close to reaching his best form again, with a great start to the season for the England international. Rooney has 5 goals in 6 games so far this campaign, which have taken him past the 200 mark for United in what has truly been a sensational nine years with arguably England’s biggest club. Rooney has broken so many records already, becoming at various points the youngest Premier League goal-scorer and youngest player to play for England, and fulfilling the great potential that seemed very obvious from as soon as he first broke onto the scene as a 16-year-old at former club Everton.
Now one of the biggest names and most recognisable faces in world football, Rooney often features on the front of the FIFA video game covers, as well as several other advertising campaigns. He has sponsorship deals with Nike, Ford, Asda and Coca-Cola, as well as a £5m plus royalties book deal for a series of biographical books to be released over a 12-year period.
Rooney’s commercial value is obvious, and it is in direct correlation with his value to his club, who were eager to keep hold of him no matter what this summer, and it’s no surprise given that he has helped United to five Premier League titles and the Champions League in his time at Old Trafford, playing a big part in one of the most successful periods in their history.
4. Neymar (Barcelona)
After a superb start to his career with Brazilian club Santos, Neymar made a keenly-anticipated £48m move to Spanish giants Barcelona this summer, becoming the club’s record signing, and his arrival in European football was met with big excitement, as the 21-year-old striker no doubt has the potential to become a true great of the game, and has joined the ideal club to continue his remarkable development. With the expansive and creative attack-minded style of play on show at Barcelona, Neymar should fit in perfectly and although he will have great expectations on his shoulders, he has made a good start to life in La Liga already.
An explosive and skillful player, Neymar is capable of Lionel Messi-like moments of individual brilliance and his performances in Brazil and for his national side have made him world famous from a young age, and that is surely set to continue as he teams up with other world class stars at the Nou Camp this season.
He is already one of Brazil’s best-ever paid players with his sponsorship deals with Nike and Volskwagen, and he will gain even more exposure if he can perform for Barcelona.
3. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
One of the most talked about players all summer long, Gareth Bale finally made the move from Tottenham to Real Madrid, becoming the most expensive footballer of all time in the process in his sensational £85m move. The Welsh winger won games all by himself for Spurs last season, scoring some stunning solo goals at crucial times to aid his side’s fight for a top four place, though they very narrowly missed out in the end. This desire to be playing at the top stage in European football in the Champions League will no doubt have played some part in his decision to move, but the money on offer at the Bernabeu will have no doubt helped as well, as Bale has become one of the world’s best-paid players with wages of £300,000 a week.
Almost a one-man team for Tottenham last season, it is clear why Bale is valued so highly, and he is undoubtedly a joy to watch when he plays at full flow. He has already started well for Real Madrid, scoring on his debut against Villareal, and will surely go on to make a further impact when he recovers from injury. His return could come in Real’s El Clasico derby match against fierce rivals Barcelona, which would be a real test of Bale’s ability to perform on the biggest stage.
Bale’s remarkable rise has seen him become the face of BT Sport and several editions of FIFA 2014, and he has managed to trademark his heart-shape celebration, which he is now set to use on his own range of clothing and other merchandise. He also makes £2m a year from his sponsorship with sports brand Adidas.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Until his new team-mate Gareth Bale broke his record this summer, Cristiano Ronaldo had been the world’s most expensive footballer for four years, after making a sensational £80m move from Manchester United to Real Madrid back in 2009. The Portuguese super star is a true world class talent, who has provided the footballing world with some moments of sheer quality many times over the last few years, breaking all kinds of records with his incredible goal-scoring feats for both United and Real.
A three-time Premier League winner with Manchester United, Ronaldo also scored in the Champions League final for the Red Devils as they won the tournament in 2008, and he has gone on to enjoy similar success in Spain with one La Liga title and one Copa Del Rey win with Los Blancos. More remarkably perhaps, he has an unbelievable record of 212 goals in 208 appearances for Real Madrid, meaning he is almost always in the limelight with so regularly finding the back of the net for one of the world’s biggest clubs.
Unsurprisingly, as one of the most famous faces in the game, Ronaldo has a number of endorsements with major brands. He is the third highest-earning footballer in the world behind Lionel Messi and David Beckham (even after retirement) and has a net worth of nearly £100m. He has sponsorship deals with Nike, Coca-Cola, Castrol, Konami, Motorola, Herbalife and KFC, and is ranked 8th in the most marketable athletes in the world. Ronaldo is also involved with fashion, and has a new clothing line set to hit the shops in November this year. Another sign of his tremendous fame in this modern era is that he became the first celebrity to reach 50 million followers on Facebook.
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi has an estimated personal wealth of around £73m, and is without a doubt the world’s most valuable footballer today. The Argentine star has never commanded a high transfer fee due to his development from the Barcelona youth team, but after his world class displays over the last few years, in which he has helped his club win every trophy possible, he would be valued at around £105m in today’s transfer market, although Barcelona themselves say he would command a fee of £491m.
The 26-year-old still has many years left at the top, and although you could argue his reputation couldn’t possibly improve as he is already regarded as perhaps the best player of all time, he will surely carry on scoring his memorable individual goals and helping Barcelona to even more silverware. A World Cup win with his national side Argentina is probably the only thing missing from his collection of achievements, and would surely cement his place as the best of all time.
Although he is not the stereotypical celebrity footballer, his incredible natural ability has unsurprisingly shot him to fame, and he has appeared on the covers of both the Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA video games, as well as on several adverts for Adidas, Pepsi and even a Japanese face wash ‘Scalp D’. He is also an ambassador for Turkish Airlines. His numerous sponsorships make him the richest footballer in the world, which is fitting as he is undoubtedly the most gifted and best to watch.