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LONDON. — Wayne Rooney might be down in the dumps over his team’s current form, but there’s one table that may give him more to shout about.The Old Trafford striker has been named as the richest player in the Premier League.
Rooney’s wages are in the region of £250 000, while he also enjoys sponsorship deals from the likes of Nike and HarperCollins.
The top 10, released by wealthx.com, is dominated by Rooney’s England team-mates.
However, one foreign player does make the top five — Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o. The Cameroonian may have struggled to find his shooting boots at Stamford Bridge since arriving last summer, but he certainly knows where the bank is.
A storied career at European giants like Inter Milan and Barcelona won’t have harmed matters, but his mega-bucks deal at Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala catapulted him up the charts.
A whopping £16.5million-a-year deal made Eto’o the highest paid player on earth before his move to London — and puts him second in the rich list.
From there on, it’s home-grown talents who make up most of the list. Rooney’s fellow Old Trafford star Rio Ferdinand comes in just behind Eto’o, with sales from his ‘#5’ brand proving a nice top-up to his United deal.
Chelsea’s stalwart duo Frank Lampard and John Terry are next up, with another of England boss Roy Hodgson’s old guard — Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard – just behind.
Ryan Giggs in seventh place confirms the unsurprising news that twenty years playing for Manchester United doesn’t do any harm to the bank balance, and it’s only from eighth place down that Eto’o is joined by some fellow foreign stars.
And it’s another misfiring Chelsea striker who joins him. Fernando Torres is on big money at Stamford Bridge despite flopping since his £50million move from Liverpool.
Blues fans will no doubt be bemused to learn that their toothless attack actually plays host to the two richest overseas players in the country.
Manchester City’s endless cash reserves make an appearance in the last two spots. Midfield giant Yaya Toure comes in ninth with an estimated £25million net worth, while Etihad team-mate Sergio Aguero struggles by on just £1million less.
The rich list
1. Wayne Rooney, Manchester United: £45m
2. Samuel Eto’o, Chelsea: £39m
3. Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United: £37m
4. Frank Lampard, Chelsea: £31m
5. John Terry, Chelsea: £29m
6. Steven Gerrard, Liverpool: £29m
7. Ryan Giggs, Manchester United: £27m
8. Fernando Torres, Chelsea: £26m
9. Yaya Toure, Manchester City: £25m
10. Sergio Aguero, Manchester City: £24m — Mailonline
Online Reporter