Top Richest footballers in the World

Former Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzales is the richest Spanish footballer, according to a recent report run by Goal.com on the sport’s richest.

style="border-radius: 25px 25px 25px 25px; border: 5px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);" />

Raul who nows players for Qatari side Al Sadd, after a spell with German club Schalke, is worth around €44m, beating Barcelona striker David Villa (€43m), Iker Casillas (€35m) and Fernando Torres (€29m).



Another former Los Blancos player, David Beckham is number one on the list, earning a staggering 200m euros, whilst Barca’s Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo sit second and third respectively.



Another Real Madrid player, Kaka is fourth on the list, whilst Ronaldinho, now playing Brazil sits fifth.



Full List



1. David Beckham (PSG) – 200 million euros



2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – € 134m



3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – € 130m



4. Kaká (Real Madrid) – € 80m



5. Ronaldinho (Atletico Mineiro) – € 73m



6. Samuel Eto’o (Anzhi Makhachkala) – € 60m



7. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) – € 58m



8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG) – € 55m



9. Rivaldo (Sao Caetano) – € 53m



10. Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United) – € 49m



11. Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls) – € 48m



12. Michael Owen (Stoke City) – € 46.5m



13. Raul Gonzalez (Al Sadd) – € 44m



14. David Villa (Barcelona) – € 43m



15. Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy) – € 41m



16. Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) – € 40m



17. Frank Lampard (Chelsea) – € 38m



18. Robbie Fowler (no team) – € 37.5m



19. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) – € 37m



20. Robinho (AC Milan) – € 36m



21. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid) – € 35m



22. Frank Ribery (Bayern Munich) – € 33.5m



23. John Terry (Chelsea) – € 31.5m



24. Didier Drogba (Galatasaray) – € 29m



25. Fernando Torres (Chelsea) – € 29m



26. Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray) – € 25.5m



27. Nicolas Anelka (Juventus – transfer) – € 25m



28. Alessandro Del Piero (Sydney FC) – € 24.5m



29. Miroslav Klose (Lazio) – € 24m



30. Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich) – € 24m



31. Francesco Totti (Roma) – € 24m



32. Petr Cech (Chelsea) – € 23m



33. Neymar (Santos) – € 23m



35. Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich) – € 23m



36. Joe Cole (West Ham United) – € 22.5m



37. Andrea Pirlo (Juventus) – € 22.5m



38. Paul Scholes (Manchester United) – € 22m



39. Damien Duff (Fulham) – € 21.5m



40. Park Ji-Sung (QPR) – € 21m



41. Daniele De Rossi (Roma) – € 21m



42. Clarence Seedorf (Botafogo) – € 21m



43. David Trezeguet (River Plate) – € 20m



44. Xavi (Barcelona) – € 20m



45. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) – € 19.5m



46. Ashley Cole (Chelsea) – € 19.5m



47. Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama F Marinos) – € 19.5m



48. Michael Essien (Real Madrid – transfer) – € 19m



49. Yaya Toure (Manchester City) – € 19m



50. Alessandro Nesta (Montreal Impact) – € 18.5m

PSG defeat Nancy, Lille win

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain saw off Nancy 2-1 in Ligue 1, while Lille beat Valenciennes 3-1.



David Beckham had to make do with a cameo substitute appearance as his Swedish club-mate stole the attention with two second-half goals, following Benjamin Moukandjo's first-half opener for the visitors.

Victory for PSG lifted them five points clear at the summit, ahead of Sunday's clash between second-placed Lyon and third-placed Marseille, while a fourth league defeat in five for their opponents left them six points adrift of safety.

Lille came from behind to beat Valenciennes 3-1 at the Stade du Hainaut and extend their Ligue 1 winning streak to five matches.

Maor Melikson had given mid-table Valenciennes a first-half lead, but Rudi Garcia's men slipped into another gear after the break, with goals from Ronny Rodelin, Tulio de Melo and Benoit Pedretti earning the three points.

Lower down the ladder, Evian responded to coach Pascal Dupraz's pre-match pleas with an emphatic 5-1 win over fellow strugglers Sochaux to move out of the relegation zone.

Dupraz had claimed that psychologically the game was "worth a thousand points", with Evian lying three points behind their opponents who occupied the last position above the drop zone.

By the time Cedric Barbosa and Saber Khelifa had scored twice apiece, Kevin Berigaud adding another to render Cedric Bakambu's 53rd-minute equaliser irrelevant, Evian had jumped two places to 16th and it was their shell-shocked opponents who were left residing in the bottom three.

Brest remained looking over their shoulder at the relegation places after losing 1-0 at home to Toulouse. Landry Chauvin's side headed into the game five points above the drop zone but Adrien Rabiot's goal on the stroke of half-time - coupled with Evian's win - saw Brest's margin over the bottom three shrink to just two points. Toulouse, meanwhile, climbed to 11th.

It was a dramatic night in the lower reaches and a woeful display from Reims goalkeeper Kossi Agassa helped Troyes lift themselves off the foot of the table and drag the away side ever closer to the drop zone after a 4-2 win.

Goals from Corentin Jean and Julien Faussurier put the home two in front with an hour gone before a late scoring spree, including Jean's second and a late effort from Mohamed Yattare added to the excitement.

Nicolas de Preville and Odair Fortes were on target for the visitors, making it 2-1 and then 3-2.

Finally, Ajaccio moved clear of the danger zone as Ronald Zubar's second-half goal earned them a 1-0 victory over Lorient. The former Wolves defender lashed home a powerful shot in the 75th minute.

Zlatan urges Beckham to snub QPR for PSG

David Beckham should forget about a return to the Premier League with QPR and sign for Paris Saint-Germain, according to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.



Former England captain Beckham will play his final game in Major League Soccer when LA Galaxy face Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup final on December 1, after which he is on the lookout for "one final challenge".



Moves to the Australian A-League and links with West Ham and now QPR, following the appointment of Harry Redknapp as manager, have been suggested as possible destinations for the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder, but Ibrahimovic believes Beckham would serve the French side's ambitious project well.



"I am sure there will be many offers for him from clubs all over the world, but it is a very exciting project here in Paris and if he still wants more trophies then this is the right club for him to join," Ibrahimovic said.



"We can win the Champions League over the next two seasons with the team that is being built."



Redknapp has also expressed his interest in bringing Beckham to Loftus Road, having invited him to train with Tottenham during the MLS off-season in January 2011.



"I worked with him at Tottenham when he came to train and he is top drawer. He was great," Redknapp said. "He's a top class professional and would be great to have around the place.



"He can set a fantastic example in terms of his approach to training, everything. He's not just a great player, but a great guy as well."

Manchester City hit man wants to join Balotelli

Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has praised his former Inter Milan teammate Mario Balotelli profusely and has claimed that the Italian wants to link up with him at Paris St. Germain.



The striker who recently scored a wonder goal against England in an international friendly spoke to the Italian media, saying that Balotelli, “is a player with great talent and, given his age and has a huge potential. He may be one of the best strikers in the world. He has matured a lot and I think he wants me to play with me again, now at PSG.”



Balotelli is facing a great deal of pressure at Manchester City and seems to be 4th in the pecking order with his consistent lack of professionalism further creating problems between him and City boss Roberto Mancini. The former Inter Milan forward has made just 5 starts this season and he may find himself making a move in January if PSG are able to place a strong bid on the table.



The Italian has scored just 2 goals for his club this season and has failed to make a telling impact on his team’s fortunes, unlike super sub Edin Dzeko. With the likes of AC Milan and Inter Milan also allegedly keen to sign Balotelli, we may well see him the Champions in January.

Ibrahimovic wins Swedish Player of the Year award

The former AC Milan star has successfully defended the title for the fifth successive time.

He has now picked up the award seven times in total Paris Saint-Germain attacker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been named Swedish Player of the Year following his impressive performances throughout 2012.





The powerful attacker netted an impressive 28 goals in 32 Serie A appearances for AC Milan in 2011-12, before leaving the Rossoneri for PSG in the summer transfer window.



He has since developed into a key player at the Ligue 1 giants, and has been rewarded for his fine form with the prestigious individual Swedish award.



"It's proof I have had a good year and that I keep developing as a player. I hope to stand here and say the same thing again next year," the PSG star said on receiving the award.



The trophy is given by Aftonbladet and the Swedish Football Association to the best male Swedish footballer each year.



Ibrahimovic has now won the award seven times in total, and six consecutive times.

Ibra finds 10k-a-week home

Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has finally found a home in France after several months of searching, and will move to an address in Versailles.

 Ibrahimovic and wife attend the Golden Foot Award 2012 ceremony at Monte Carlo Sporting Club.

The Sweden international, on a salary of €14 million a year at the Parc des Princes, will move into a €40,000-a-month property in a private road in Park Chauchard, Le Figaro has reported.



Laurent Demeure, the president of the estate agency that handled the deal, said: "All I can tell you is that Zlatan Ibrahimovic needed a place to rest and rejuvenate.



"At first, he thought about living in one of the more glamorous areas of Paris. He wanted a beautiful Haussmann building with high-tech services and a status equivalent to that of an international five-star hotel, plus parking in the basement."



Reports had said Ibrahimovic was close to moving to the Villa Montmorency, close to the home of the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.



Since his arrival in the French capital, the forward and his family have lived in Parisian hotels including the InterContinental near the Opera.

Ibrahimovic branded 'ignorant, arrogant and childish' by Faroese captain

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been branded 'arrogant, dirty and childish' by the man who was detailed to mark him during Sweden's narrow 2-1 victory over the Faroe Islands on their new plastic pitch last week.



Faroese captain Frodi Benjaminsen endured a torrid night trying to keep Zlatan and his monolithic ego in check, with the 34-year old centre-back telling Swedish newspaper Expressen:



"He is just so ignorant, someone who just talks a lot and I don't like him. He is so arrogant.



"He talks about other players, talks about himself, what he does and how he plays. He also plays dirty and that is the main reason [I don't like him].



"But we didn't fight – he is not worth it."



Which presumably loosely translates as 'he's a gigantic git, but he's also a gigantic git with a black belt in taekwondo'. Benjaminsen continued, this time in local paper Dimmalaetting:

"He elbowed me just before the interval and when we left the pitch for half-time I asked him what he was doing.



"Just when we got inside he grabbed hold of me and he was belittling our team and me.



"What he said was not nice. He talked about where he is playing and how much he is earning. It was so childish."



Who'd have thought, eh? Turns out Zlatan - the man who constantly refers to himself in the third person and who recently ordained himself 'living legend' - is an egocentric and overly aggressive under all that fluffy loveliness?