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Posted - May 06 2003 : 11:25:26 AM
Scaly
Beckham Overtakes Zidane as Soccer's Highest Earner
Tuesday, May 06, 2003, 7:23:34 AM
IP:170.148.92.30
Beckham Overtakes Zidane as Soccer's Highest Earner, France Football Says
By Darren Tulett
Paris, May 6 (Bloomberg) -- David Beckham, the England soccer captain who this season helped Manchester United to an eighth Premier League title in 11 years, overtook Zinedine Zidane as the sport's top earner, according to France Football magazine.
Beckham, 28 last week, renegotiated his contract with United last year and lifted his annual earnings to 15 million euros ($17 million) from 10.3 million, the magazine said. He gained one place in the standings.
Beckham's salary is about 6.6 million euros, the same as his United teammate Roy Keane. While Keane is 10th on the list with annual revenue of 8.65 million euros, Beckham gets an additional 8.4 million euros from his endorsements, more than any other soccer player.
Beckham, married to pop singer Posh Spice, endorses products from PepsiCo. Inc. drinks and Vodafone Plc mobile phones to Marks & Spencer Group Plc clothing and Adidas-Salomon AG sporting goods.
Zidane, the most expensive player in soccer history after Real paid Juventus a fee of 75 million euros for him in 2001, earns 6.4 million euros a year from the European champion. His Brazilian teammate Ronaldo, third on the list, gets about the same.
According to U.K. newspaper reports, Beckham will join Zidane and Ronaldo in Madrid in the months ahead. The Spanish team denies it's planning to acquire him.
Sol Campbell, a defender with England's Arsenal, has the highest salary in soccer, according to France Football. He makes 7.3 million euros, twice as much as teammate Thierry Henry. Campbell's salary was boosted because Arsenal didn't have to pay London rival Tottenham a fee when it bought him.
*T FRANCE FOOTBALL TOP 20 SOCCER EARNERS:
NAME TEAM SALARY + ENDORSEMENTS
(Millions of euros) 1. David Beckham Manchester United 15 2. Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid 14 3. Ronaldo Real Madrid 11.7 4. Rio Ferdinand Manchester United 9.62 5. Alessandro Del Piero Juventus 9.55 6. Hidetoshi Nakata Parma 9.36 7. Raul Gonzalez Real Madrid 9.3 8. Christian Vieri Inter Milan 9.28 9. Michael Owen Liverpool 8.9 10. Roy Keane Manchester United 8.65 11. Luis Figo Real Madrid 8.6 12. Gabriel Batistuta Inter Milan 8.6 13. Sol Campbell Arsenal 8.1 14. Oliver Kahn Bayern Munich 7.65 15. Alvaro Recoba Inter Milan 7.6 16. Francesco Totti AS Roma 7.3 17. Rivaldo AC Milan 7.2 18. Thierry Henry Arsenal 6.2 19. Fabio Cannavaro Inter Milan 6.1 20. Paolo Maldini AC Milan 6 *T
Last Updated: May 6, 2003 05:18 EDT
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