Carlos Tevez

18. Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), $14.9 million

 

 

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.

 

 

Club career

 

 

Boca Juniors

2001-2004

 

 

 

 

 

Corinthians

2004-2006

 

 

 

 





 

 

West Ham United

2006-2007

 

 

 

 

 

Manchester United

2007-2009

 

 

 

 

 

Manchester City

2009-Present

 

 

 

 



 



 

Thierry Henry

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.

 

 

Club career

 

Arsenal

1999-2007

 

 

 

 

 

Bacelona

2007-2010

 

 

 

 

 

New York Red Bulls

2010-Present

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 



 

Karim Benzema

20. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), $14.3 million

 

 

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 1 Player 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.

 

 

Benzema is a former French youth international and has represented his nation from under-17 level onwards. Prior to playing for the senior team, he played on the under-17 team that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. Benzema made his senior international debut in March 2007 in a friendly match against Austria. On his debut, he scored his first international goal in a 1–0 win. Benzema has represented France at two major international tournaments; the 2008 and 2012 editions of the UEFA European Football Championship. He made two appearances in the former competition against Romania and Italy in the group stage.

 

 

Club career

 

Lyon

2004-2009

 

 

 

 

 

Real Madrid

2009-Present

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 



 





Didier Drogba

13. Didier Drogba (Shanghai Shenhua), $15.6 million

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily^[3] ( born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian footballer 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.

Career

Le Mans (1997–2002)

 

 

 

 

Guingamp (2002–2003)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marseille (2003–2004)

 

 

 





 

 

 

Chelsea (2004–2012)

 

 

 

 

 



Shanghai Shenhua (2012–2013)

 

 

 

 

Galatasaray (2013-present)

 



 

 

 

 

Samuel Eto’o

12. Samuel Eto’o (Anzhi Makhachkala), $15.7 million

 



 Samuel Eto'o Fils (French pronunciation: ​[samɥɛl eto fis]) (born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian footballer who plays as a striker for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala.^[3] Eto'o trained at Kadji Sports Academy.^[4] He also holds a Spanish passport, enabling him not to count among the "foreign players" working in the European Union. Eto'o is believed to be, at the present moment, the highest earning footballer in the world, at £350,000 per week under his current contract.^[5]

 

Eto'o scored over 100 goals in five seasons with Barcelona, and is also the record holder in number of appearances by an African player in La Liga.^[6] In 2010, he became the first player to win two European continental trebles following his back-to-back achievements with Barcelona and Inter Milan. He is the second player to have ever scored in two separate UEFA Champions League finals and the fourth player, after Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa, and Gerard Piqué, to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams.^[7] He is the most decorated African player of all time having won the African Player of the Year award a record four times in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010.

 

As a member of the Cameroon national team, Eto'o was a part of the squad that won the 2000 Olympic tournament. He has also participated in three World Cups and six African Nations Cups (being champion twice) and is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the African Nations Cup, with 18 goals.

 

Club career

 

Real Madrid

1997-2000

 

Mallorca

2000-2004

 

 

 

 



 

Barcelona

2004–2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inter Milan

2009-2011

 

 

 

 

 

Anzhi Makhachkala

2011-Present

 

 

 

 



 

 



 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

 

11. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain), $15.8 million

Zlatan Ibrahimović (born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Swedish national team for which he is captain. Ibrahimović started his career at Malmö FF in the late 1990s under Roland Andersson. He was signed by Ajax, and made a name for himself under Ronald Koeman. He later signed with Juventus for €16 million. Ibrahimović gained fame in Serie A, benefiting from his strike partnership with David Trezeguet.

In 2006, he signed with league rival Internazionale, where he won individual awards such as the Italian Oscar del Calcio and the Swedish Guldbollen, and was named in the 2007 and 2009 UEFA Team of the Year, in addition to finishing as the league's highest scorer in 2008–09 while winning three straight Scudetti. In the summer of 2009, he transferred to Barcelona for €69 million, the second highest transfer fee in football history. His time at Barcelona was short lived, however, moving back to Serie A football with Milan the following season, in a deal which made him one of the highest paid footballers in the world^[2] and cost the Italian club €24 million.

Career

Malmö FF
1999-2001

 

 



 

Ajax

2001-2004

 

 

 

 



 

Juventus

2004-2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Internazionale

2006-2009

 

 

 

 

 

Barcelona

2009-2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Milan

2010-2012

 

 

 

 

 

Paris Sain-Germain

2012-Present

 

 

 

 



 



 



 

Steven Gerrard

10. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), $16 million

Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English footballer who plays for and captains both Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfield role, but he has also been used as a second striker, holding midfielder, right back and right winger.^[3][4]

Gerrard, who has spent his entire career at Anfield, made his début in 1998 and cemented his place in the first team in 2000, succeeding Sami Hyypiä as team captain in 2003. His honours include two FA Cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields, one Champions League, one UEFA Cup, and two Super Cups.

Gerrard made his international debut in 2000, and has since represented England at the 2000 and 2004 European Championships, as well as the 2006 World Cup – where he was the team's top goalscorer with two goals – and the 2010 World Cup, where he first captained his country in the absence of regular captain Rio Ferdinand, who missed the tournament through injury.^[5] He was named as the permanent England captain shortly before the 2012 European Championship,^[6] where he was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament.^[7]

Gerrard has been described as one of the greatest English midfielders in history, "a real leader, Gerrard is a tireless runner and has superb vision. His striking from distance is feared around the world and he is a prolific scorer for a midfielder."^[8] Gerrard came second only to Kenny Dalglish in the "100 Players Who Shook The Kop" – a Liverpool fan poll.^[9] Zinedine Zidane said in 2009 that he considered Gerrard to be the best footballer in the world.^[10] In 2005, Gerrard was honoured as the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or Bronze Award. Additionally, he has been named to the PFA Team of the Year seven times, the UEFA Team of the Year and FIFA World XI three times, and was named the FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009. In 2010, The Guardian named Gerrard to their World XI team, which compiled the greatest footballers of all time onto one squad.^[11] He is, to date, the only footballer ever to have scored a goal in an FA Cup Final, a League Cup Final, a UEFA Cup Final and a Champions League Final.

Career

Liverpool
1998-Present