Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has managed to push David Beckham to the second spot in the earnings list for footballers. The football rich list for this year has been recently published. According to it, former Manchester United midfielder David Beckham has been pushed to the second spot by Lionel Messi. David Beckham has always been viewed as the marketing icon in the world football. He has been able to create a huge income stream from merchandising alone, which has been responsible for keeping him at the top of the tree even after entering into the sunset years of his career.

According to the rich list, Beckham comes second only to Lionel Messi by a very small margin. Lionel Messi‘s is thought to make around £ 27.5 million per season, while Beckham brings in £ 26.2 million each season. Real Madrid midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo comes third in the list with £ 24.3 million. A significant portion of the income for David Beckham came through merchandising due to the fact that his salary from LA Galaxy amounts to only £ 3.9 million. This is amongst the lowest in the top 20 list, but Beckham has been able to retain the charisma through this merchandising deals, which bring him around £ 21.5 million annually.

Former Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto’o is currently the top when it comes to annual salaries, as he is thought to earn around £ 16.5 million just from his wages alone. The Cameroon striker moved to the Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala in the summer. The cash-rich club are prepared to pay Samuel Eto’o this huge sum, which makes him earn twice as Lionel Messi from his contract. Wayne Rooney has entered into the top five due to the mega deal he recently signed with Manchester United, which brings in £ 11.4 million annually.