© EuroFootball.com
"The star Lionel Messi is the highest earning football player on the planet, as declared by Sports Illustrated magazine in the United States. The Argentinian, whose income reached 30.5 million euros per year, surpassed Madrid's "Real" leader Cristiano Ronaldo (27.1 million) and "Man Utd" forward Wayne Rooney (23 million). The list of fifty representatives from various sports includes compensation, commercial income, as well as bonuses. Interestingly, in this list Messi took only seventh place, with golfer Tiger Woods (46 million euros per year) leading the way. Football players were also surpassed by tennis player Roger Federer, boxer Manny Pacquiao, Formula 1 racer Fernando Alonso, and others. The top eight highest earning football players: (amounts in US dollars) 1. Lionel Messi 43.8 million 2. Cristiano Ronaldo 38.8 3. Wayne Rooney 29.2 4. Kaka 27.3 5. David Beckham 26.8 6. Ronaldinho 25.8 7. Carlos Tevez 21.7 8. Frank Lampard 20.1"
