The 10 Highest Paid Soccer Players In The World

Annual salaries for the world's top soccer stars can rival those in other sports. However, it is off the field where the true earning power of the elite players comes into play.

The greatest example of that is David Beckham. Beckham is well-past his prime as a soccer player but his popularity, style, and good looks have him sitting atop the list of the world's highest-paid soccer players.

On the next few pages, we will take a look at the top ten highest-paid footballers, as calculated by Forbes.com, and how much they make both on the field and off.

It is worth noting that Samuel Eto'o, who plays in Russia, is not listed. It is believed by many that he has the highest salary for any soccer player. However, it is unclear if his reported $26.2 million salary has ever been verified.