Franck Ribéry (born 7 April 1983) is a French international footballer who plays for German club Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and for the France national team. He primarily plays as a winger, preferably on the left side, and is known for "pace, energy, skill and precise passing." Ribéry is described as a player who is "fast, tricky and an excellent dribbler" who "has great control with the ball at his feet". Since joining Bayern, he has been recognised on the world stage as one of the best French players of his generation. The previous talisman of French national team, Zinedine Zidane, has called Ribéry the "jewel of French football".
Ribéry's career began in 1989 as a youth player for local hometown club Conti Boulogne. He left the club after seven years to join professional outfit Lille, but departed the club after three years after having difficulties adjusting. In 1999, Ribéry joined US Boulogne, where he played for two years. After spending two more years in the amateur divisions with two different clubs (Alès and Brest), in 2004, Ribéry earned a move to Ligue 1 club FC Metz. After six months with the club, Ribéry moved to Turkey in January 2005 joining Galatasaray where he won the Turkish Cup. After six months at Galatasaray, he departed the club in controversial fashion in order to return to France to join Marseille. Ribéry spent two seasons at the club helping the Marseillais reach the final of the Coupe de France in back-to-back seasons. In 2007, Ribéry joined German club Bayern Munich for a then club-record fee of €25 million. With Bayern, he has won the double on two occasions; in the 2007–08 and 2009–10 seasons. In 2010, Ribéry contributed to the team that reached the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final, but was unable to participate in the match due to suspension.
Daniel Alves da Silva (born 6 May 1983), commonly known as Dani Alves, is a Brazilian footballer. He plays as an offensive right defender for FC Barcelona and the Brazilian national team.
Before joining Barcelona, Alves spent a successful six-year spell with Sevilla FC, winning two UEFA Cups and the Copa del Rey with the Andalusian side. He joined Barcelona for €32.5m,becoming the second most expensive defender to date, after Rio Ferdinands transfer from Leeds United to Manchester United in 2002 for around £30 million. Alves won the Treble in his first season with the club and in the other season, he won Spanish super cup, European super cup, and FIFA Club World Cup. Also, he helped the club to clinch another Spanish super cup, two league titles, and a UEFA Champions League in the years that followed. Alves has held a Spanish passport since 2005. On Thursday, 29 September 2011, Alves was appointed as a Special Olympics Ambassador for its Global Football program, charged with promoting respect and inclusion in football for people with intellectual disabilities, particularly in the run up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
In 2006, Agüero moved to Europe to play for La Liga side Atlético Madrid for a fee of €23 million from Independiente. He made a name for himself, attracting attention from Europe's top clubs by scoring 101 goals in 234 appearances while winning the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup in 2010. Agüero moved to Premier League club Manchester City in July 2011 for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £35 million. On the last day of his début season with the club, Agüero scored a 94th-minute winner against Queen's Park Rangers that earned Manchester City their first league title in 44 years. In 2012, he won Manchester City's player of the year as voted for by the fans.
Carlos Alberto Tévez (born Carlos Alberto Martínez; 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City. He has previously played for Boca Juniors, Corinthians, West Ham United and Manchester United. He transferred to Manchester City from United in the 2009 summer transfer window, becoming the first player to move between the two rival clubs since Terry Cooke in 1999. His energy and goal scoring rate has since made him an indispensable player for the club in the eyes of fellow players and media alike. He was promoted to captain at the beginning of the 2010–11 season by manager Roberto Mancini.
In 2011, Tévez sought a transfer away from Manchester, citing family reasons and Sergio Agüero was drafted in as a replacement. However he remains a City player after his family moved back to Manchester with manager Roberto Mancini believing Tévez will stay for the foreseeable future. His career has been dogged by a long-standing relationship with Media Sports Investment (along with Just Sport), the company which owned the rights of Tévez, and several other players and coaches. This eventually resulted in West Ham United being fined over issues regarding third-party ownership. He has made 62 appearances for the Argentina national team, scoring 13 goals.
19. Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), $14.6 million
Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French footballer who plays as a striker for New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer. Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne (a suburb of Paris) where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and signed instantly, making his professional debut in 1994. Good form led to an international call-up in 1998, after which he signed for the Serie A defending champions Juventus. He had a disappointing season playing on the wing, before joining Arsenal for £11 million in 1999.
It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premier League, he emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer for almost every season of his tenure there. Under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger, Henry became a prolific striker and Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 228 goals in all competitions. The Frenchman won two league titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners; he was nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year twice, was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice, and the FWA Footballer of the Year three times. Henry spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final.
In June 2007, after eight years with Arsenal, he transferred to Barcelona for a fee of €24 million. His first honours with the Catalan club came in 2009 when they won the La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble. He went on to achieve an unprecedented sextuple by also winning the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. In total, Henry has been named in the UEFA Team of the Year five times. In 2010, he joined the New York Red Bulls of the Major League Soccer, and won the Eastern Conference title with them in 2010. He returned to Arsenal on loan for two months in 2012.
Henry enjoyed similar success with the French national team, having won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2000 and 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. In October 2007, he surpassed Michel Platini's record to become France's top goal-scorer of all time. Henry retired from international football after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Off the pitch, Henry is an active spokesperson against racism in football, partially due to his own experiences. He married English model Nicole Merry in 2003 and had a daughter with her, but they divorced in 2007. Henry was also one of the top commercially marketed footballers; he was ranked ninth in the world in 2006.
Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French international footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid in La Liga. He primarily plays as a striker whose influence can extend out to the wings and is known for his technical ability, powerful style of play, and vast goal-scoring ability. He is described as an "immensely-talented striker" who is "strong and powerful" and "a potent finisher from inside the box".
Benzema was born in the city of Lyon and began his football career with local club Bron Terraillon. In 1996, he joined the biggest club in the city Olympique Lyonnais and, subsequently, came through the club's youth academy. Benzema made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season and appeared sporadically in his first three seasons as Lyon won three titles in that span. In the 2007–08 season, Benzema became a starter and had a breakthrough year scoring over 30 goals as Lyon won its seventh straight league title. For his performances, he was named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 1Player of the Year and named to the organization's Team of the Year. Benzema was also the league's top scorer and given the Bravo Award by Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo. After another season at Lyon, in July 2009, Benzema signed a six-year contract with Spanish outfit Real Madrid. After struggling to establish himself in his debut season with the club, in the ensuing two seasons, Benzema reached prominence scoring 32 goals en route to helping Real Madrid win the Copa del Rey in 2011 and the 2011–12 edition of La Liga. He has been awarded French Player of the Year for his performances during the calendar year of 2011 respectively 2012.
13. Didier Drogba (Shanghai Shenhua), $15.6 million
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily[3] ( born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorianfootballer who plays as a forward for Galatasaray in the Süper Lig. He is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club's fourth highest goal scorer of all time. In October 2012, he was voted by Chelsea supporters as the club's greatest ever player.[4] His key attributes include his physical strength, ability in the air, and his ability to retain possession of the ball.[5]
After playing in youth teams, Drogba made his professional debut aged 18 for Ligue 2 club Le Mans. A late bloomer, he signed his first professional contract aged 21; it was not until the 2002–03 season that he realised his potential, scoring 17 goals in 34 appearances in Ligue 1 for Guingamp. He moved to Olympique de Marseille in 2003 for £3.3 million. His scoring success at Olympique de Marseille continued, finishing as the third highest scorer in Ligue 1 with 19 goals and helped the club to reach the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.
In the summer of 2004 Drogba moved to Chelsea for a club record £24 million fee, making him the most expensive Ivorian player in history. In his debut season he helped the club win their first league title in 50 years, and a year later he won another Premier League title. In 2006–07 Drogba scored 33 goals, won the Premier League Golden Boot and scored the winning goals in both the League Cup and FA Cup finals. He won the FA Cup for a second time in 2009, scoring the equaliser in the final, and in 2009–10 was instrumental in Chelsea clinching their first double, winning his second Golden Boot and scoring the only goal in the 2010 FA Cup Final. In March 2012, Drogba scored his 100th Premier League goal, the first African player to reach the milestone.[6] He then became the only player in history to score in four separate FA Cup finals, when he scored in Chelsea's win over Liverpool in the 2012 final.[7] He made his last appearance for Chelsea in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, in which he scored an 88th minute equaliser and the winning penalty in the deciding shoot-out against Bayern Munich.[8]
A Côte d'Ivoire international since 2002, Drogba has captained the national team since 2006. He led the Côte d'Ivoire to the 2006 World Cup, their first appearance in the tournament, and also scored their first goal. He was named African Footballer of the Year in 2006 and 2009. Drogba was a part of the Côte d'Ivoire sides which reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006 and 2012, but were beaten on penalties on both occasions.