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.

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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

Joe Cole: 'I should never have joined Liverpool'

Joe Cole admits his decision to join Liverpool in 2010 was a mistake, claiming his only other option was an unthinkable move to Tottenham.

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Cole, 31, spent two-and-a-half years as a player at Anfield but failed to become a regular in the first team, being sent out on loan to Lille last season before rejoining his boyhood club West Ham in January.

The England international says he never felt comfortable at Livepool but was forced to take up the only offer that appealed to him.

"I can only play for teams that I'm passionate about and I think that's what went wrong for me at Liverpool," Cole said. "I didn't feel a connection with the club or the place that I had at Chelsea and West Ham.

"I had seven great years at Chelsea but the club wanted to go in a certain direction and I wasn't involved. So I was left with two real options - Liverpool or Spurs.

"Spurs was probably the best option because they were offering me a five-year deal and it meant I could stay in familiar surroundings.

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Cole believes the mentality at Liverpool made it difficult for him to settle in, with their insistence on being known as the "biggest club in the country" catching him off guard.

"When I joined, the guy interviewing me said 'you've joined the biggest club in the country' and reeled off the trophies they'd won," he said. "I just said 'yeah, if you put it like that, I suppose you're right' and Liverpool used that as the headline to the interview.

"I didn't want to upset anyone so I just went along with it. But obviously they're not the biggest club in the country any more. How do you judge how big a club are? Nottingham Forest won the European Cup twice but they're not a bigger club than Chelsea."

Although issues with match time plagued Cole at Chelsea, he seemed more motivated to break into the Blues' line-up than he did at Liverpool.

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"I rolled in at Chelsea on my first day thinking 'I'm going to be a big part of this club'," he added. "Then Sebastian Veron walks through the door with about five agents. Same position as me, costing three or four times as much.

"As soon as I signed, (former owner Ken) Bates said to me: 'Congratulations, son, you've joined to sit on our bench'. I just thought 'I'll show you' and a year later I was playing regularly and Veron was off."

And his decision to return to Upton Park was not only buoyed by an unhappy stint with the Reds.





"I was missing London and my family and I had a personal tragedy in December when my brother-in-law died. I got an opportunity to go back to West Ham and I don't want to move any more."

Joe Cole: 'Losing to Spurs was horrible'

West Ham United midfielder Joe Cole has expressed his disappointment in losing to Tottenham Hotspur in the dying minutes of the Premier League clash last night.

The 31-year-old managed to snatch a 2-1 lead for his side at Upton Park, only to lose 3-2 courtesy of a wonderstrike by Gareth Bale in stoppage time.



"It's horrible, the worst thing about being a footballer," Cole told the club's official website. "We worked so hard so to get nothing out of the game was horrible.



"It was heartening and nice to see Jussi Jaaskelainen have a great game, but we worked so hard. They are a top side and have gone third in the league now, so it's disappointing."



The Hammers currently sit 14th in the table.

West Ham confirm Cole return

Joe Cole's return to boyhood club West Ham on a free transfer from Liverpool has been confirmed.



The 31-year-old has signed an 18-month contract at Upton Park to end a miserable spell at Anfield.



Cole told his new club's official website: "It is a great move for me. This is where I learnt my trade and I'm happy to have another chance to be here. I've always loved West Ham and I hope I can give the club a few memorable seasons."



Cole emerged from the club's academy to sign professional terms in 1998 and helped them win the FA Youth Cup the following year, becoming a firm fans' favourite before leaving for Chelsea in 2003, when he became one of their first signings following Roman Abramovich's takeover of the club.



There, he won eight major trophies including three Premier League titles, was named in the Professional Footballers Association team of the year in 2006 and has won 56 full England caps.



But after joining Liverpool as a free agent, he was sent off on his Premier League debut and missed a penalty in his next appearance, a Europa League qualifying match against Trabzonspor. The poor start set the tone for a Reds career hampered by form and fitness problems and he was allowed to spend last season on loan at Lille.



He scored nine goals in 42 appearances for the French club and will have the opportunity to further rebuild his career at the club where he first made his name.



Cole said: "The timing was right for me to come back and I'm happy. I'm back in London and I'm delighted to be here. I want to be here and I want to make an impact.



"Sam (Allardyce, manager) didn't have to sell me the club for me to come back. I have had 18 months at Liverpool where I haven't played much football and Sam wants to play me.



"I'm going to need games to get back to my best, but I want to play football and come here and help the team to make an impact.



"I could see from the outside what a great bunch of lads we have here and there is a great spirit. I'm excited."



The warm reception he received from the Upton Park crowd when he returned with Liverpool last month, which he reciprocated by not celebrating his goal in the Reds' 3-2 win, was also a factor in his return.



"It was a big thing in me coming back, the fact that everybody here wants me to do well," Cole added. "The fans have always been great for me, whenever I have been back and also when I've been in the area visiting family.



"I feel like I owe the club a little bit as well because if it wasn't for West Ham I wouldn't be a footballer. This club's great youth-team coaches taught me the trade."



The Hammers lie 11th in the Premier League table after 20 games and Cole is optimistic about their prospects for the remainder of the campaign.



"The first season in the Premier League is always the toughest one and the boys have done brilliant to get 26 points on the board," he said. "We would like to match that in the second half of the season and crack on from there.



"We have got a lot of England internationals and a good strong squad here, so our home form is going to be vital."