Lionel Messi tops the France Football rich list with 2014 income of £47.8m
- His Barcelona club salary of £26m is topped up by sponsorship deals
- Cristiano Ronaldo comes in second with annual earnings of £39.7m
- Those two come well ahead of third-placed Neymar on £26.8m
- Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero feature in top 10
- Chelsea's Jose Mourinho is highest-earning manager on £13.2m a year
Lionel Messi is the highest-paid footballer on the planet, banking nearly £1million a week last year in wages and sponsorship deals.
The Argentina and Barcelona favourite earned an eye-watering £47.8m in 2014, with his club salary of £26m topped up by lucrative endorsements with the likes of adidas, FIFA 15 and Turkish Airlines.
It puts him well ahead of his Real Madrid and Portugal nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo, who brought in £39.7m, according to the latest France Football magazine rich list.
Lionel Messi tops the France Football rich list for 2014 with an annual income of £47.8m
Messi is thrown an Argentina shirt to sign from a member of the crowd during Tuesday's training session at Georgetown University in Washington ahead of their friendly match with the United States
Messi tops up his salary with Barcelona by promoting various companies, including adidas
Cristiano Ronaldo comes in second in the annual France Football list with earnings of £39.7m
Ronaldo promotes TAG Heuer while driving a McLaren P1 supercar in Madrid
Ronaldo leaves the plane ahead of Real Madrid's Champions League final with Atletico last May
Messi's Barcelona colleague Neymar comes in third on £26.8m, his total underlining the gulf between the world's two leading players and the rest.
Manchester United striker Robin van Persie is the highest-ranked Premier League player, earning £18.8m in 2014. This consists of an £11.8m basic salary, topped up by £5m bonuses and £2m from various sponsorship deals.
Real Madrid's world-record signing Gareth Bale comes in sixth with an annual income of £17.5m, followed by United and England captain Wayne Rooney on £16.5m.
Barcelona's Brazilian ace Neymar (right) comes third in the rankings with £26.8m earned in 2014
Brazilian star Neymar pictured at his sister's birthday party in Sao Paulo
Manchester United striker Robin van Persie is the highest-earning Premier League player on the list
Gareth Bale may be the world's most expensive player but he ranks only sixth on the rich list
Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney earned £16.5m, according to the rich list ranking
Rooney pictured with his agent Paul Stretford in Manchester last week
The top 10 is rounded out by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sergio Aguero and Robert Lewandowski, followed by another glut of Premier League stars.
Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Manchester City's Yaya Toure both made £14.7m, while United duo Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao are jointly on £13.6m.
In the manager rich list, Jose Mourinho of Chelsea is the highest paid with his £10m salary and £3.2m in commercial revenue.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger (£8.3m) and Manchester United's Louis van Gaal (£7.3m) also feature in the top five.
The Paris Saint-Germain and Sweden star Zlatan Ibrahimovic comes in eighth on the list
Chelsea's Jose Mourinho tops the manager's rich list with an annual income of £13.2m
