By David Gold
March 22 – Lionel Messi (pictured) has overtaken David Beckham as the world’s best paid footballer, after a study revealed he made €33 million (£27.5 million/$52 million) during 2011.
Barcelona star Messi has won the FIFA Ballon D’Or three times and is widely considered the world’s best player.
The Argentine broke his club’s all time goalscoring record when he notched his 234th goal for them against Granada on Tuesday (March 20) at the age of just 24.
The study by France Football showed that Beckham remains in second place, having made $50 million (£31 million/€37 million) in a year when he helped his team LA Galaxy lift the MLS Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the Real Madrid forward who has a long standing rivalry with Messi, was third on the list with earnings of $46 million (£29 million/€35 million), while Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o was fourth with $37 million (£23 million/€28 million) after signing for big spending Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala last year.
Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney was fifth with $32.6 million (£20.5 million/€24.5 million), Manchester City duo Sergio Agüero ($29.7 million/18.7 million/€22.4 million) and Yaya Touré ($27.8 million/£17.5 million/€21 million) were sixth and seventh respectively, while Fernando Torres of Chelsea was eighth with $26.4 million (£16.6 million/€20 million).
Brazilian Kaká was ninth, bringing in $24.5 million (£15.4 million/€18.5 million), and German defender Philipp Lahm completed the top ten on $22.6 million (£14.2 million/€17 million).
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