Top Five Richest PL Footballers – Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool

No footballer regularly plying their trade in the Premier League can ever be described as poor. However, there are some, at the top of their game, or with a great career mostly behind them, who attract even greater riches.

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney is worth a reported £45m but it could be even higher. His contract at Manchester United, which was renegotiated last season, is now a five and a half year deal which is worth approximately £300,000 per week. Rooney was one of the few United players to star last season as the team upset the Betfair betting odds and finished seventh in the table.

Rooney, part of the England World Cup squad that travels to Brazil, also has deals with sponsors including Nike and Samsung which bring in almost £2m extra a year. He is not one of the biggest earners in terms of endorsements; Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo earn much more off the pitch, though if Rooney has a good World Cup, more deals may well come his way.

Samuel Eto’o

Samuel Eto’o faces an uncertain future at Chelsea but he won’t be short of money wherever he ends up next season. Chelsea will be looking to add strikers to their squad as they seek to justify the Betfair odds as one of the favourites to lift next season’s Premier League title.

Eto’o is now aged 33 and, after a career including lucrative spells at Barcelona and Inter Milan, the forward became the highest paid player in world football when he joined Anzhi Makhachkala.

He was earning about £350,000 a week for the Russian side and, on moving to London at the start of last season, was agreeing a massive pay cut. However, having completed the move to Stamford Bridge he did receive an eight-figure severance package and a substantial signing on fee. Eto’o also receives about £5m a year from being the face of Puma.

Rio Ferdinand

Ferdinand also has his footballing career up in the air after his career with Manchester United came to an end. Much of his estimated £44m fortune has been generated through his long career at the top of the game, with spells at West Ham and Leeds before his big money move to Old Trafford in 2002.

He also have various business interests outside of the game including films, music and magazines while he also owns a Manchester restaurant called Rosso. He now has homes in Manchester and London as well as Barbados, Turkey and Dubai and will not be short of interests when his playing career eventually comes to an end.

Steven Gerrard

Unlike Rooney and Ferdinand at Manchester United, Gerrard has never won the Premier League trophy during his long career with Liverpool which has now spanned 16 years. However, Liverpool won the Champions League during his time with Anfield and, as England captain, his fortune could increase further if he and his country have a good World Cup in Brazil.

Gerrard is likely to stay at Anfield in some capacity after his playing career ends and he has earned outside of the game, through a contract with Adidas among other outside interests. After coming so close last season, Liverpool will be among the favourites in the Betfair title odds to lift their first ever Premier League title next season.

Frank Lampard

While his Chelsea team-mate John Terry has signed a new contract at Stamford Bridge, Lampard is yet to do so, and he has been linked with newly promoted QPR, managed by his uncle Harry Redknapp. Despite his lucrative Chelsea contract coming to an end, Lampard still has sponsorship deals with Adidas and Pepsi which have boosted his earnings.