The 5 Best Paid Footballers for 2010

Sports Illustrated just released their 2010 Fortunate 50 list of top-earning American athletes. Not surprisingly, no soccer players were able to crack the list. However, they also published their list of the 20 highest-earning International athletes. The top 5 include 3 soccer players, while the complete list of 20 included a total of 7 soccer players. Since there were no Americans on the Fortunate 50, we can obviously conclude that those on the International list comprise the best paid footballers in the world for 2010. Keep in mind that the figures represent salary as well as estimated endorsement earnings. Without further ado, let’s see who they are.

The 5 Best Paid Footballs for 2010

1. Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) – $44,000,000
2. David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy) – $40,500,000
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – $40,000,000
4. Kaka (Real Madrid) – $25,100,000
5. Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls) – $24,000,000

• Next in line: Ronaldinho (AC Milan) – $23,000,000; Carlos Tevez (Manchester City) – $20,500,000

Very interesting. Three of the five (Messi, Ronaldo, and Kaka) play in Spain’s La Liga. The other two (Beckham and Henry) are in MLS. No players from the English Premier League or Italy’s Serie A made the top 5. But each league’s top earners do make up the list of those just missing the cut. However, Ronaldinho has been strongly linked with a move to MLS. So say what you will about the quality of play, but MLS does attract the stars and apparently can afford to pay them handsomely.

Naturally, you’re probably wondering how the list compares to 2009. Don’t worry, with the help of the Sports Illustrated International 20 List for 2009, I got you covered.

The 5 Best Paid Footballers for 2009

1. David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy) – $45,200,000
2. Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) – $39,900,000
3. Ronaldinho (AC Milan) – $27,400,000
4. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – $25,500,000
5. Thierry Henry (FC Barcelona) – $23,700,000

• Next in line: Kaka (Real Madrid) – $21,100,000; Zlatan Imbrahimovic (Inter Milan) – $19,500,000

If You Want Fabregas, Give Me Messi

Let’s be honest. Barcelona’s pursuit of Cesc Fabregas is well into the realm of the ridiculous. Every time the story appears to be dead, it reignites.

Arsene Wenger wants the speculation to end and is trying to handle the situation with class. That ain’t working. Perhaps he should take a cue from his club’s supporters and send a more direct message.

When that doesn’t work, he should take a page out of the Barcelona playbook. The next time Wenger is asked to comment on Barcelona’s pursuit of Fabregas, he should embrace the ridiculousness and make the following statement:

“It is no secret that Barcelona are intent on acquiring our captain. Therefore, we have opened negotiations and have discussed a swap deal for Lionel Messi. Lionel has already accomplished everything there is to be accomplished in La Liga with Barcelona and is need of a new challenge. In order to be considered the best player in the world, Messi needs to conquer the best league in the world, the Premier League. He realizes this and realizes that we are the team best suited to his style and can afford him the best opportunity to realize his goal of being the undisputed best player on the planet. This is something he recognizes he cannot achieve if he remains with Barcelona. While we will be saddened to see Cesc leave the club, the blow will be softened by the sight of Lionel donning the Arsenal shirt.”

While the shock waves of that statement would be felt around the world, it would not be enough. The message would need to be reiterated on a daily basis. Every time Wenger is asked about Fabregas, he would need to talk about Messi. At the same time, the Arsenal “sources” would need to be continually leaking information to the press to help give the statements some legs to stand on. Frankly, that shouldn’t be too hard considering how the media loves to take the weakest of rumors and turn them into front page news. They would take this new angle and run with it regardless of how ridiculous and far-fetched it may be.

Arsenal could even enlist the help of Thierry Henry. How about an Henry statement like this:

“While I enjoyed my short stay at Barcelona, you all know my heart is with Arsenal. During my time at Barcelona, I spoke at great lengths with Lionel about the quality of play in England. More specifically, we spoke about the quality of Arsenal, the brilliance of Arsene and the rest of the staff, and of course, the amazing passion displayed by the Arsenal supporters. Lionel seemed genuinely intrigued by the prospect of coming to the Premier League. I believe if Lionel joined Arsenal, they would lift many trophies.”

Wouldn’t this make the Fabregas story that much more fun? Messi would undoubtedly deny that he has any interest in a move to Arsenal but, so what? As long as Arsenal stick to their story and approach every conversation in the same manner that Barcelona has with regard to Fabregas, the media would continue to report on it. Arsenal could continue to fuel the fire by implying that if it doesn’t happen during this transfer window, it most likely will be completed during the next transfer window. That would give us months to talk about this! Fans of the Premier League would definitely be skeptical but they would want to believe that Messi is coming to England.

The beauty in this approach is that since Messi is widely believed to be a superior player to Fabregas, the story would no longer be about Fabregas and Arsenal but would be about Messi and Barcelona. This would effectively allow Arsenal to turn the tables and redirect focus away from them and onto Barcelona. And who knows? Maybe this strategy could actually be successful in unsettling Messi.

At the very least, it would be entertaining. I for one would love to hear Cristiano Ronaldo’s commentary when asked by the media to comment on these rumors. I would imagine, or hope for, something like this:

“Lionel is a great player but he’s already accomplished everything possible at Barcelona. He needs to prove he can achieve the same success in England. I moved to La Liga because I had already accomplished everything in the Premier League. In order to be considered the best, you need to welcome new challenges and conquer them. When I raise trophies this season with Madrid, everyone will know who is best.”