Ronaldo beats Messi AGAIN!

He beat him to the Ballon d'Or and now Cristiano Ronaldo has pipped rival Lionel Messi in the financial stakes as well.
The Real Madrid megastar has an estimated wealth of £122million, according to the annual football Rich List compiled by Goal.com.
A lucrative new five-year contract worth £86.5m, signed with Real in September, means the Portuguese came in just ahead of Messi's worth of £120.5m.

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Wealth: Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo topped the annual Goal.com Football Rich List with an estimated wealth of £122million

Best in the world: Ronaldo, who scored his 42nd goal of the season for club and country against Levante on Sunday night, was crowned Ballon d'Or winner back in January

Ronaldo skills and the fast-necked kittens

 

Pushed into second: Barcelona star Lionel Messi was just behind Ronaldo in the list with a worth of £120.5m

Difficult year: Messi fell behind his rival Ronaldo in 2013, a year in which he suffered a long-term injury and faced fraud charges in court

THE TOP 10 IN FULL

1. Cristiano Ronaldo £122m
2. Lionel Messi £120.5m
3. Samuel Eto'o £70m
4. Wayne Rooney £69m
5. Kaka £67.5m
6. The Neymar family £66m
7. Ronaldinho £64m
8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic £57m
9. Gianluigi Buffon £52m
10. Thierry Henry £47m
SOURCE: Goal.com
 

Ronaldo enjoyed a sensational 2013, scoring all four goals in a two-legged play-off with Sweden to guide his country to the World Cup finals.
He has scored a phenomenal 42 goals in 33 matches for club and country this season as Real chase a treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League.
In addition to his salary - which pays £14.3m a year - he has lucrative sponsorship deals with Nike, Armani, Castrol Edge, Jacob & Co, Herbalife, Banco Espirito Santo and KFC.
In 2013, Ronaldo launched his own line of underwear and even opened his own museum.
Because only current professionals count in the list, last year's leader David Beckham drops out after announcing his retirement last May, allowing Ronaldo to claim top spot.
Messi had an up and down year by his standards - his salary of £12.3m was eclipsed by Ronaldo, he suffered a prolonged injury absence and he was forced to appear in court to testify over alleged tax fraud. 

The best: Ronaldo poses with the Ballon d'Or award for the FIFA World Player of the Year in January after beating Messi and Franck Ribery

Bound for Brazil: Ronaldo scored four goals in the two legs of the World Cup play-offs against Sweden to book Portugal's passage

Spitting image: Ronaldo poses to a waxwork of himself at the Madrid Wax Museum back in December

Ronaldo shows off his bulge in a huge underwear banner

 

That's pants! Ronaldo launched his own CR7 line of underwear last year

But the 26-year-old, who has scored 22 goals in 24 matches for Barcelona this season, can expect parity with Ronaldo when his contract comes up for re-negotiation this year.
Messi's sponsorship deal with Adidas is worth £1.6million per year and he has his own range of sportswear.
He also fronts adverts for Turkish Airlines, EA Sports FIFA series, Samsung's Galaxy 11, Gillette and Gatorade.

 

Commercial interests: Messi poses with a pair of Adidas boots. His deal with the German sportswear supplier is worth £1.6million a year

Star of the screen: Messi filming an advert for soft drink Pepsi in London last year

Freestyle on board with Messi and his head-cam

 

In the dock: Messi appeared in court to answer questions over alleged tax fraud back in September

Chelsea striker Samuel Eto'o is third on the list, with an estimated worth of £70m, largely acquired when he played in Russia for Anzhi Makhachkala.
The marquee signing of Suleyman Kerimov's club, Eto'o was paid a world record £16.5million a year.
He makes a quarter of this at Chelsea now, where he has scored nine goals so far in this campaign.
Eto'o is sponsored by Puma, Ford and fashion label John Richmond and has invested some of his cash in a collection of rare cars, including a Bugatti Veyron, two Aston Martins and a Maybach Xenatec.

Pension pot: Chelsea striker Samuel Eto'o, 33, is worth around £70million

Accumulate: Eto'o made most of his millions while playing for the Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala

Wayne Rooney sprung up the list after signing the biggest contract deal in British football history last month, with Manchester United paying him £300,000 a week for the next five years.
It means the England striker will earn close to £78m before the age of 33, not to mention his lucrative endorsements by Nike and Samsung which push his total worth to £69m.
Kaka, Neymar, Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gianluigi Buffon and Thierry Henry round off the top 10.  

Pay rise: Wayne Rooney shot up the Rich List after signing a £300,000-a-week deal with Manchester United last month (below)

 

Club and country: Rooney will lead England's hopes in this summer's World Cup