Football story by Brian Watters, Fri, 09 Dec 2005 04:56:00 GMT


England captain and Real Madrid midfielder David Beckham has emerged as the richest footballer in Britain, according to the ranking released by Four Four Two magazine. Becks has apparently amassed $130 million dollars (111 million euros) in personal fortune.

However, Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich is at the top with estimated earnings of £10 billion. Dennis Bergkamp happens to be the richest footballer in the Premiership at £37 million followed by England and Newcastle striker Michael Owen at £30 million. Manchester City's Robbie Fowler came fourth with £28 million.

The richest manager is again Chelsea man Jose Mourinho with an income of £20 million followed by Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson at £18 million The magazine has released its third rich list in its forthcoming issue in January. Mourinho has handsome contracts with American Express and Samsung and this has put him on top of the managers list in just 18 months after arriving at the Premiership from Porto. US tycoon Malcolm Glazer, owner of Manchester United is at the fifth spot with an estimated income of £735 million.

The list has matured in the past three years with more players coming into the top 100. There are 22 players this time as compared to 9 in the first survey. A spokesperson for the magazine had said last time that the estimated incomes were approximations and in no way based on solid records, "Naturally, there is an element of estimation because people are reluctant to open their bank accounts for examination."

Arsenal are well -represented on this list with eight names and Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle United follow with six names each.

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