No equal payments in men and women football

In men football, salary payments are almost incomparable to the women’s salaries. Where a top woman football player will be pleased with earning a few thousand pounds per year, their male counterparts are only satisfied when obtaining thirty or forty million pounds in the same period. The top 10 of highest paid players in world football consists of three Real Madrid footballers, two Barcelona players, two from Manchester City (not United!), two from Chelsea and one playing with Internazionale.

The highest paid player in world football is Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo, tapping in £ 11.3million, or £ 941,666 per month or £ 30.958 per day. He is followed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona: £ 10.4 million) and Lionel Messi (Barcelona: £ 9.1 million). Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) makes it to 31st position, gaining £ 4.8 million. On 50th place, Juventus player Alessandro Del Piero receives a measly £ 4.1 million per year, leaving him just one step away of applying for welfare benefits.

However, the larger part of the revenues is not gathered through the salaries, but because of sponsorships. Topping the 2011 Forbes list of Highest Paid Soccer Players is David Beckham: his earnings between May 2010 and May 2011 were $ 40 million. Beckhams endorsement deal with Adidas is the biggest in the sport thanks to royalties from soccer apparel and cleats as well as lifestyle lines such as ObyO. On this list, Cristiano Ronaldo only reaches to second spot, mapping in $ 38 million largely due to sponsors like Nike, Armani, Coca-Cola and Castrol. Lionel Messi comes in third with total earnings reaching $ 32 million.

Marta Vieira da Silva is according to experts the most gifted female player in the world, playing in the US Women’s Professional Soccer league. When she played in Sweden, she made 111 goals in 103 league games. Anschutz Entertainment Group, the owner of the Galaxy, pays Beckham $ 6.5 million for actually playing the sport. This amount is more than a dozen times the salary that the Western New York Flash pays Vieira da Silva. In addition, her wage includes endorsement fees and helping to project the game around Buffalo.

In the United Kingdom, Katie Sarah Chapman (born 15 June 1982) is an English footballer who plays for English club Arsenal Ladies in the FA WSL. She is a former member of the England women's national team. In May 2009, Chapman was one of the first 17 female players to be given central contracts by the Football Association. She was an ever–present in midfield during England's run to the 2009 UEFA Women's Championship final. In 2010 Chapman was named FA International Player of the Year for the second time. That year Chapman signed a contract with newly professional Fulham, to become one of the first full–time professional female players in England. It was reported that Chapman was one of the most highly paid players in the team, on an annual salary of about £ 20,000.

10 highest paid players in world football

1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, £ 11.3 million)
2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona, £ 10.4 million)
3 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, £ 9.1 million)
4 Samuel Eto'o (Internazionale, £ 9.1 million)
5 Kaka (Real Madrid, £ 8.7 million)
6 Emmanuel Adebayor (Manchester City, £ 7.4 million)
7 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, £ 7.4 million)
8 Carlos Tevez (Manchester City, £ 7.0 million)
9 John Terry (Chelsea, £ 6.5 million)
10 Frank Lampard (Chelsea, £ 6.5 million)

Published in "The Holland Times".