David Beckham Tops Football’s Rich List With Earnings Of £30.8million

He may be in the twilight of his glittering career but David Beckham has regained his crown at the top of football's rich list, despite donating his wages to charity. The Paris Saint-Germain star has overtaken Barcelona’s Lionel Messi at the top of the pay list with annual earnings of £30.8million.

And while Manchester United may lead the way at the top of the Premier League, it is rivals Manchester City who have the most players in the top 20 of highest earners.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star is estimated to earn £28.3m from sponsorship deals with adidas, Sainsbury’s and Samsung, and has a new £50m five-year deal to be an ambassador for the Chinese Super League.

The recent survey in France Football shows that Beckham earned less than five per cent of his income through his wages while playing for LA Galaxy and PSG with the bulk coming in sponsorships and endorsements.

The 37-year-old is expected to take home the French league minimum wage of £132,000 from his five months in the Paris while around £4m will be donated to local charities.

When he signed his deal at PSG, Beckham said: ‘It has never been about the biggest contract or the money. ‘It’s always been about playing football. I’ve been lucky to achieve what I’ve achieved and earn what I’ve earned.’

The ex-England captain is currently on a four-day whistle stop tour of Beijing and the rest of China to promote football in the country and seemed to be enjoying his new role as he took part in a small football game with local students - complete in grey suit, tie and shoes.

Beckham arrived in China as the country tries to clean up its football image after a spate of corruption scandals.But he said he isn't concerned about the match-fixing scandals, with several players and officials sentenced to prison. 'I'm not here to clean up anything. I'm here to educate the children and give them a chance to become professional footballers,'

It is the sixth year that Beckham has topped the rich list and he has been in the top 10 every year since 1999.

The rest of the top 20 has six stars from the Premier League and only five from La Liga. But there are no English based players in the top five, with Barcelona’s Messi again finishing just ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The next two highest earners – Samuel Eto’o at Russian side Anzhi and Neymar from Brazil’s Santos give a clue to where the future riches may lie. Cameroon striker Eto’o is the higest paid in terms of wages with an annual salary of £17.1m.

While Neymar, 21, has been persuaded to stay in his homeland by massive endorsement deals from some of Brazil’s biggest companies and will be the face of the 2014 World Cup.

City star Sergio Aguero is the top earner in the Premier League in sixth place ahead of Wayne Rooney, Yaya Toure - who is looking for a new contract at Manchester City despite having £220,000-a-week deal - and Chelsea's flop Fernando Torres.

Source: Daily Mail