Barcelona's Lionel Messi is highest paid footballer, while Jose Mourinho is highest paid manager

The Barcelona Forward and Argentina international Lionel Messi, who is widely regarded as the best footballer in the world, earns €31 million (£27) per annum. This amount includes his salary and publicity deals and is €3.5m (£3m) more than what Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo earns.

Manchester United forward and England International Wayne Rooney is third in the list with an annual income of €20.7m (£18m).David Beckham and Thierry Henry completes top 5 with earnings of €19m (£16.5m) and €13.6m (£11.8m) respectively.

In the manager's category, Mourinho heads the top-paid list as he earns €13.5m (£11.7m) a year.Barcelona's Pep Guardiola is second with an annual income of €10.5m (£9.1m) while Rafael Benitez,earned €10.2m (£8.9M) becoming third followed by Fabio Capello with a salary of €8.5m (£7.4m).