Football has been growing in worldwide popularity over the last eight decades. The good news is that, despite its popularity, it also comes with a high paycheck for its players. For this particular article, we teamed up with FootballPredictions.com – experts in football news, gossip, and picks.
Over the years, it has sustained its popularity as the world’s most famous sport. More and more people have grown to love this game and its legendary players, who have successfully wowed the fans and amassed so much wealth and fortunes to increase their net worth to be among the world elites.
Significantly, football is the most popular in Europe and some other continents like Africa and Asia, But the Americans have made some real progress with the sport. According to the stats, millions of people in America have already participated in the sport.
So many legendary players have the most significant net worth in the history of the game. Players like David Beckham remains one of the most handsome, famous and richest heroes the game has ever seen if not the biggest.
5. Diego Maradona
The Argentine wizard, Maradona, remains one of the greatest players the game has ever seen, if not the greatest. His net worth is one of the biggest among the football heroes in the past. Football turned his life from slump to success and made him a global icon. According to reports, his current net worth is around $100,000.
If not for football, will heroes like Zinedine Zidane, Luiz Figo, Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto, or Ronaldo De Lima have been anything closer to huge net worth? Your guess is as good as ours.
Therefore, the following is the list of the top 4 football heroes in the past with the most significant net worth in 2024. So it can be easy for their supporters to know how far their heroes has gone since leaving the game.
4. Luis Figo
Luis Filipe Madeira Figo is one of the football’s most celebrated icons that came to the Sporting Lisbon academy in Portugal. A retired footballer became famous for playing with two most prominent names in Spanish football before he retired in 2009. As reported by various sources, reliable media outlets, Luiz Figo’s net worth is $50 million.
Figo was destined to be a hero in Portuguese football and world football, too, after leading Portugal’s golden generation to win the Fifa World Youth Championship in Saudi Arabia in 1989. He fortunes gradually building up when he joined Barcelona in a deal worth $2.5 Million in 1995.
So many dailies reported that Figo was said $250,000, the ten percent of the fee paid by Barcelona to his boyhood club Sporting Lisbon.
Quietly, Luiz Figo kept racking up all the available dollars from his new employer, FC Barcelona in his $25,000 weekly wage contract in his first two years, before it was later improved to $42,000 weekly wage after his contract extension in 1997.
In 1996, a sportswear company, Nike, signed a mega-deal worth $8 Million with Luiz Figo. He appeared and also starred in a Nike commercial titled “Good vs. Evil” in a global game set in a Roman Amphitheatre, in which he appeared alongside football greats like Ronaldo De Lima, Paolo Maldini, Patrick Kluivert and Eric Cantona.
Before his contract expired in 2002 with Nike, and it was reported by Forbes that the Portuguese legend had racked up $15 million in variables with the Global brand giant, which he has helped the Portuguese icon in his course to build a high net worth.
His world record and controversial move to Barcelona arch rival, Real Madrid, also play a huge part in shooting Luiz Figo to the league of the most productive football player in 2002. The deal was reported $75 million. Also, in April 2014, Luiz agreed to become Initial Coin Offering (ICO) brand ambassador by joining many sports icons like Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, and even an ex-football player, Micheal Owen.
3. Zinedine Zidane
Zidane is currently the coach of Real Madrid, arguably the biggest club in Spanish football. The former France International, regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well, due to his exceptional skill and his stylish football way of playing, which also capped his goal-scoring prowess.
After his world record transfer fee of $90 million in 2001 from Juventus, the former French captain capitalized on it to start growing his net worth to become one of the rich footballers this world has ever. Various, reliable online media reported that Real Madrid also paid Zizou a whopping $3 million sign-on fee.
Nicknamed “Zizou”, his net worth is $70 million according to Forbes.com. Zidane was one of the football’s highest-paid players during is time with the Galacticos. He was on $150,000 weekly wages before his retirement in 2006.
Zidane also won the Fifa world best player on three occasions to boost his popularity amongst the global sports icons. He remains one of the most gifted footballers the sport has ever seen. His fame brought him so many endorsements during his playing days that made his net worth grew so much.
His appointment as Real Madrid in January 2016 made Zidane one of the highest-paid coaches in world football with a reported salary of $15 million annually.
Zidane later won 3 Uefa Champions League consecutively with made him a joint most successful coach in European football along with his former boss, Carlo Ancelotti. Every year of winning the champions league title, Zizou pocketed $500,000 as winning bonus for each Champions League title won.
Zidane is never involved is many sponsorship deals, unlike his contemporaries. But he still earns so much from companies like Orange, Kanakia group, and Adidas. He was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador with United National Development Programme shortly after his world-record move to Real Madrid in 2001
2. Ronaldinho
El Gaucho, the nickname of the Brazilian Legend, Ronaldinho is a former FC Barcelona player, who made so many fortunes for being the superstar. His Net Worth is $80 Million as reported by a reliable source like Celebritynetworth Ronaldinho came into superstardom while playing for his native country, Brazil, in 2002 Fifa World cup in Korea and Japan.
His taste for luxury life is what truly skyrocketed his Net Worth after his mega move to Barcelona, which was facilitated by Global brand, Nike, in 2003. It was reported that El Gaucho earns $4 Million from his Image right and other bonuses. His $90,000 weekly wage contract was well consolidated on to fund his loved Luxury life and also his investments for the growth of his net worth.
He remains one of, if not the most entertainer on the field play. After his income drastically increased shortly after his transfer to Barcelona from PSG in 2003, He later joined Ac Milan in 2008 for $25 million on a three years contract, which he earned $8 million annually.
Moving back to his native country, Brazil, after signing for Flamengo on $120,000 weekly wage, really took a tumble on Ronaldinho’s net worth in 2011. It was a bit setback for the superstar because El Gaucho came out publicly that Flamengo is not paying him as agreed, and he moved to Fluminese on a $150,000 weekly basis, plus a further image right bonuses.
Also, in 2017 Ronaldinho’s net worth grew with 30% after it announced a collaboration an Italian Businessman, Fabio Cordella, by launching a wine company named “Wine of Champion” range 11 different labels of the drinks by creating a starting 11 line ups iconic footballers.
Ronaldinho have so many endorsements deals with global brands like Nike, Coca Cola, Pepsi, and EA Sports. In 2006, a year after claiming his first Ballon D’or, he earned reportedly $25 million from endorsements, which were more than what his current employer, FC Barcelona were paying him in wages. Ronaldinho also struck a lucrative deal with Nike to appear on numerous adverts, but the actual fee was undisclosed.
The Brazilian is a car fanatic with his Bugatti Veyron makes it louder. He also owns a Hummer H2, Mercedes Benz E series, Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari 458 and Audi Q7.
1. David Beckham
The golden boy of English football may have retired in 2013, but he’s still racking up millions of dollars more than 95% of current active footballers from endorsement deals, business ventures, and other sponsorship deals.
David Beckham is a former superstar and also a football Icon with a net worth of $390 million, according to Forbes.com. He is a father of four, who is also currently married to Victoria Beckham, a fashion designer who her current net worth is $356 million.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar remains the most recognized Footballer during his active days as a football player. After signing his first mega-contract with Man United in 2001, worth $23 million, which made him remain at the Old Trafford for another two years before moving to Real Madrid in 2003.
David Beckham made history in 2007, joining the MLS side, LA Galaxy, on $1 million weekly wages for five years.
In 2018, Beckham announced the project that saw him own a Major League Soccer team in Miami. David’s Business group bought a plot land to build a new stadium that will come with 20,000 capacity.
Beckham later revealed in the year that his Major League Soccer Team would be called Inter Miami and would eventually make its MLS debut in 2024.
To cap his status as of the most recognized sporting icons, Beckham has numerous sponsorship and endorsement deals by promoting the likes of Addidas, Pepsi, Calvin Klein, Vodafone, Samsung, Gillette, Breitling, Armani, H&M, Sainsbury’s, to name few among his deals. Also, in 2004, Beckham was named the Highest paid Footballer after taking into account his endorsement deals and salary.
David has two companies that manage and control his wealth. According to so many reliable reports, in 2016, his companies made $110,000 daily. His business, Seven Global LLP, is in charge of the sales from his clothing and fragrance commercial deals, while Footwork Productions is the one taking for his image rights name.
Both companies are comfortably under DB Ventures and DB Ventures’ parent company, Beckham Brand Holdings Ltd, which David shares with his wife Victoria, who is also a millionaire, and the family’s management group headed by Simon Fuller.
Indeed, the man who famously made the “Adidas Predator” boot popular has continued to work with so many sporting brands to keep the pace of his fast-growing net worth.
