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Beckham Dethrones Ronaldinho to Top Soccer's Rich List Again

By Alex Duff

April 8 (Bloomberg) -- David Beckham overtook Ronaldinho to regain the title of soccer's highest-paid player, according to France Football magazine.

Beckham's earnings from salary and endorsements soared 82 percent to 31 million euros ($48.9 million) following his switch to the Los Angeles Galaxy from Real Madrid, lifting him above Barcelona's Ronaldinho, whose income was unchanged at 24.1 million euros, the magazine's annual survey said.

The 32-year-old Beckham reclaimed the position he held for 3 years through 2005. He has a $5.5 million base salary that could boom to as much as $250 million over 5 years with endorsements and profit sharing, according to the Galaxy.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo rose to third and fourth, with income of 23 million euros and 19.5 million euros, respectively. It's the first time they have been in the top 10.

Jose Mourinho, who left Chelsea in September, remains the top-paid coach -- even though he isn't currently in charge of a team -- with earnings of 29 million euros, France Football said.

England coach Fabio Capello is the next, with pay of 14.2 million euros, followed by Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who gets 7.4 million euros, the magazine said.


SOCCER'S HIGHEST-EARNING PLAYERS 2008

PLAYER                 CLUB                 INCOME (EU MILLIONS)
1.  David Beckham      Los Angeles Galaxy   31
2.  Ronaldinho         Barcelona            24.1
3.  Lionel Messi       Barcelona            23
4.  Cristiano Ronaldo  Manchester United    19.5
5.  Thierry Henry      Barcelona            16.8
6.  John Terry         Chelsea              13.9
7.  Michael Ballack    Chelsea              13.8
8.  Ronaldo            AC Milan             13.4
9.  Kaka               AC Milan             12.9
10. Steven Gerrard     Liverpool            11.8

Source: France Football (income includes salary and
endorsements)

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Duff in Madrid at aduff4@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 8, 2008 05:36 EDT

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