According to the recently released France Football 2014 report looking at the highest paid players in world football, adding their salaries to endorsements and commercial deals to come up with a final sum, Cote D’Ivoire midfielder Yaya Toure is the only African player included in the top 20 spots on the list.
The Manchester City player receives approximately €20 million ($21,9 million per year) in endorsements and salary from his English Premier League club. This puts him tie for 11th place in the list, along with Chelsea star Eden Hazard.
His endorsements include money-spinning deals with Puma and Nissan, amongst other companies. He has a deal with the Citizens which will keep him at the club until 2017. His total annual income is still only a third of the amount that top earner Lionel Messi raked in during 2014.
The current African Player of the Year negotiated his Puma deal to include an element dedicated to charity, with Puma clothing and shoes donated to underprivileged in West Africa.
France Football Best-Paid Players In 2014
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona): €65 million
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid): €54 million
3. Neymar (Barcelona): €36.5 million
4. Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain): €27.5 million
5. Robin Van Persie (Manchester United): €25.6 million
6. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid): €23.8 million
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7. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United): €22.5 million
8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain): €21.5 million
9. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City): €21.2 million
10. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich): €20.2 million
11. Yaya Toure (Manchester City) and Eden Hazard (Chelsea): €20 million
13. Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao (Manchester United): €18.5 million
15. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid): €17.8 million
16. David Silva (Manchester City) and Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea): €17.3 million
18. David Luiz (Paris Saint-Germain): €17.2 million
19. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid): €17 million
20. Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich): €16.9 million
