World Football: The Top 15 Overpaid Players in Soccer

Football is widely followed all over the world with many countries and is still gaining popularity in many parts of the world which is reason for many commercial preseason tour by many clubs. Also Football has also become a prospect for rich businessmen as many have invested huge amounts of money into the game, which has resulted in inflated transfer prices and wages of players have also increased due to this.

In the last decade, a number of clubs like PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City have been taken over by powerful owners, who have invested money to help their club succeed in their ambitions at the end of the season. Many footballers are enticed into joining new clubs because they are offered excellent financial security and also, they believe in the ambition of the club because for most good footballers, trophies are more important to them than wages.

In the current financial situation with regard to football, it is understandable that many footballers are paid far too much by their clubs especially if they are backed by a financially strong owner. This article is on a list of 15 overpaid players in the game though many of them are quality players and some of them could justify their wages with excellent performances in the future.

1. Emmanuel Adebayor

According to the Telegraph, Emmanuel Adebayor is apparently paid around £140,000 a week by Manchester City who signed the striker from Arsenal in a deal reportedly worth around £25 million. However, the City striker has been unable to replicate his form in his Arsenal days which was what enticed the club to splash the money to sign the striker. Though Adebayor initially scored some vital goals for City under Mark Hughes, he has been a peripheral figure since the sacking of Hughes.

Adebayor is not involved with Mancini's plans for the next season as he prepares for the upcoming season with a number of exciting strikers including new arrival Sergio Aguero as well as Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli. It will be difficult to offload the striker because of his high wages and it will be difficult to find a club which is willing to pay his ridiculously high wages.

Real Madrid signed the former Arsenal striker on a loan deal in January till the end of the season but again, he did not play much with Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain ahead of him. However, it seems like he enjoyed the stay and it is yet to be seen whether Madrid will be interested in a deal for the striker though it could be a cut-price deal with City looking to find a buyer for the strong striker. 

2. David Beckham

According to the Telegraph, former Manchester United midfielder David Beckham is paid around £128 million over five years, which is very attractive in a financial sense for the midfielder. Beckham is undoubtedly one of England's greatest sporting icons in the last decade and is one of the most popular players in the world. The Englishman, who still hopes to be a part of the National team in the future, is a player who is recognized over the world which is why Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy were ready to sign the former Real Madrid winger.

The popularity of the MLS is increasing which is good for the development of football (Soccer) in the United States. Another MLS club New York Red Bulls signed former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry for big money and football icons like Beckham and Henry undoubtedly generate a lot of income for their clubs through merchandise, advertisements and in other ways.

It was the last excellent opportunity for Beckham to sign a big money deal and LA Galaxy could market themselves as a club and build a good popularity base for the club. However discussing Beckham's wages from a footballing point of view, he has not performed at his best in his time with the club though he remained professional and tried to put in his best efforts for the club. 

3. Kolo Toure

According to the Telegraph, Kolo Toure joined Manchester City from Arsenal in a deal worth  £15 million and signed a deal with the Manchester club worth around  £120,000 a week, doubling the wages that he used to receive from Arsenal. The Gunners are a club which is run on a self sustainable policy but City have the financial resources to give big deals to some of their new signings.

Mark Hughes, who was the City manager at that time, signed Toure, who was pursued for around nine months. Toure had been one of the most important players for Arsenal in the past and was integral in their "Invincibles" season of 2003-04 as well. However, Arsene Wenger allowed the defender to depart though the defender still shares excellent relations with the Frenchman.

The Arsenal manager had extended his support for the defender, when he was having a tough time after testing positive to a specified substance which meant he was banned for six months. Though Toure had been quite an important player for City before this, he was not at his best and was left on the bench on some occasions. During the time in which Toure served his ban, Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott formed a good partnership and with the addition of Stefan Savic, it would be difficult for Toure to break into the starting eleven despite paid high wages by the club.

4. Fernando Torres

According to ESPNSoccernet, Chelsea are paying their striker Fernando Torres a basic weekly wage of £175,000, which makes him amongst the highest paid players in the world. Chelsea signed the striker from Liverpool for an alleged fee of £45 million but he has enjoyed a bad start to his Chelsea career scoring only one league goal for the Blues since his move in January.

The 26-year-old is considered to be one of the best strikers in the Premiership but unfortunately, it has been a difficult time for the former Atletico Madrid striker, as he has taken time to settle in with the club. The Spanish international has had a number of injury problems in the last year, which is one of the reasons why he has not been at his best. Even in Spain's World Cup winning campaign, he was woefully out of form which is why he was a substitute in the final of the tournament.

Chelsea paid a huge amount of money to sign the Spanish striker, which has undoubtedly put him under further pressure and Torres should also fight competition from Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka for a place in the starting eleven. Carlo Ancelotti, who was sacked at the end of the last season, could not successfully integrate the striker in the Chelsea team and it will be interesting to see if new manager Andre Villas-Boas can help him find his best form at Stamford Bridge. 

5. Joe Cole

According to the Telegraph, Liverpool signed Joe Cole on a big money contract, with the England International demanding a fee of around £90,000 a week. Cole was a free agent in the last summer and it attracted the interest of many clubs and he chose to join Liverpool, who reached an agreement with him regarding his wage demands. However, since he joined Liverpool, he has not had a good time at the club.

Cole received a red card on his Liverpool debut against Arsenal and from then on, his Liverpool career has not taken off as he had expected and he has struggled at Anfield. The midfielder has struggled with injuries and did not look like he had the fitness to play the full 90 minutes towards the end of the season when Kenny Dalglish utilized him for some Europa league games.

Though he is one of the most naturally talented footballers to have played for England in the last decade, he has not recovered his best form and could move from the club in the summer. With the Reds signing Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson, it is certain that the midfielder will play very less games in a more central role that he prefers to play in. Liverpool need to cut their wage bill as well and might consider selling Cole if there is a good offer for the England International.

6. Ricardo Kaka

According to the Daily Mail, Real Madrid midfielder Ricardo Kaka is paid wages of around £200,000 per week by the Spanish club. The Brazilian international is undoubtedly one of the best midfielders in the world and during his peak years at AC Milan, he was regarded by many as the best player in the world. However since his big money move to Real Madrid, he has struggled with injuries missing a number of games in that period.

Madrid signed German international Mesut Ozil in the last summer and though he was signed for the long term future of the team, he has been excellent for the club and has established himself as a regular for the Spanish giants. He has developed a good rapport with his team mates and his performances have meant that Kaka could be on the bench if Ozil can maintain his form.

Kaka has recovered completely from his injuries and will try his best to win a place in the starting eleven by performing well whenever he is given the opportunity. Though it is understandable why Madrid agreed to pay high wages for a footballer of his talent but with the emergence of Ozil and the signing of Nuri Sahin, Kaka may not be a regular for the Los Blancos.

7. Gareth Barry

According to the Telegraph, Gareth Barry is amongst the highest paid players in the Premiership and is paid £120,000 per week after they signed the England international for around £12 million from Aston Villa. Though Barry has been a regular in the City starting eleven, he has not been very influential for the club, which have two world class defensive midfielders in Nigel De Jong and Yaya Toure, though the latter has been utilized in a more attacking role by Roberto Mancini.

For someone who is paid high wages such as Barry, neither is he a great defensive midfielder nor has he been creative enough at City and been influential in winning games. His performances at Aston Villa were much better because he was pivotal to the team and much more influential. However, he still remains a valued member for City which is why he has been a regular under Mancini.

8. Roberto Carlos

According to Goal.com, Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos is reportedly one of the highest paid players in the Russian league with the defender paid €5 million (£4.2 million) a year for his services. The former Real Madrid player is one of Brazil's most renowned players and it was a huge move for Anzhi when they signed the defender.

Carlos played most of his professional career with the Spanish clubs winning a number of trophies in his time with the Spanish club. Also, he was also a regular at international career for a long time and also won major trophies with the national team. Anzhi would undoubtedly gain popularity by signing a legend like Carlos and he would also help improve the quality of the team though he is currently 38 years of age.

It was an excellent opportunity for Carlos to gain a good pay towards the end of his career and it also presented a new challenge to the Brazilian. Anzhi is one of the richest clubs in Russia and will further look to attract quality players in the future.

9. Thierry Henry

According to this report, Thierry Henry is reportedly the second highest paid player in the Major League Soccer with the French forward receiving around $5.6 million per year. Henry's signing is bound to attract more viewership and popularity to the New York Red Bulls and the MLS in general will benefit from the presence of a distinguished footballer, though he is towards the end of the career.

Henry is regarded as one of the best players in the history of Arsenal FC and was arguably the Premiership's best striker for some years before he moved to FC Barcelona in 2007 after the Gunners moved to the Emirates. Though he did not have a great first season with Barcelona, he formed an impressive partnership with his team mates in his second season helping them have a record breaking season.

His controversial handball in the world cup qualifiers meant that he was widely criticized and subsequently had a poor season with the club. He left Barcelona to join Red Bulls and he did not have a good first season with the club. However, he has been prolific for the club in this season, scoring 11 goals and making four assists in 18 appearances for the club. 

10. Michael Ballack

According to the Telegraph, Michael Ballack, who left Chelsea on a free transfer, receives wages of around 12 million euros for his two year stay at Bayer Leverkusen. The Germany international has played for Bayern Munich and Chelsea in the past and though other clubs were also interested in him because he was a free agent, he was attracted to the prospect of rejoining Bayer Leverkusen, whom he has played for earlier in his career.

However, since his injury in the last game of his Chelsea career which was the FA Cup final, he has been unfortunate with injuries. It has also affected his career with his national team as he has not been a part of German national team manager Joachim Loew's plans with a number of exciting youngsters coming through the ranks in Germany.

Ballack will undoubtedly add good value via marketing for Bayer Leverkusen but it will be his performances for the club which will count and so far, injuries have meant that he has not had a huge role to play in the club.  

11. Dario Conca

According to the Metro, Dario Conca is amongst the highest paid players in the world after he finalized a move to Guangzhou receiving around £6.4million per year, which is extremely high for the attacking midfielder. The South American was amongst the best players of the Brazilian league in 2010 and has moved to Asia to emerge as one of the highest paid footballers in the world.

The Chinese club will pay a reported fee of around £10 million to Fluminese and the Brazilian club’s manager said that it was a good deal for the club as well as the player. Fluminese manager Abel Braga said: “This is a good offer for the club, and words cannot describe what it represents to Conca." 

"It will allow him and his family financial security in just two and a half years. This offer will put him in the top ten highest-paid players in the world.”

12. Ronaldinho

According to this report on Goal.com, Ronaldinho is paid around €130,000-a-week after the Brazilian playmaker moved from AC Milan following his underwhelming performances for the club. The World Cup winner is one of the most gifted players to have emerged in the world of football in the last decade but since his move to AC Milan in 2008, he has not been at his best due to various reasons.

The Brazilian was at his best when he played for the Blaugrana and won plenty of individual awards like the FIFA World Player of the Year Award, which he won consecutively in 2004 and 2005. He is regarded as one of the best ever players to have played for the Blaugrana and also Brazil and his breathtaking performances in the FIFA World Cup in 2002 also helped Brazil win the tournament.

However, he has not performed at his best for the last few seasons and at 31 years of age, he also does not look very fit which is why the wages he is getting could be regarded as too high for the gifted Brazilian. 

13. Rafa Marquez

According to this report, Mexican international Rafa Marquez is the third highest paid player in the Major League Soccer as New York Red Bulls try to gain popularity by attracting quality players to join their club. David Beckham and Thierry Henry lead the list of highest paid footballers in the MLS but Marquez is not far behind with a yearly wage of around $5.544 million.

Thierry Henry's wage is only $5.6 million which clearly indicates that the club expects him to be a success on the field and also bring in popularity off it. The former Barcelona defender, who can also play as a defensive midfielder, However, Marquez has not been at his best for the club as the Red Bulls have suffered a bad run of form in recent weeks but with their success in the Emirates Cup, they will be confident that they can turn it around in the future.

14. Wayne Bridge

According to a report on the Mirror, Newcastle United are apparently interested in signing Manchester City left back Wayne Bridge, who is one of the many players that City could offload in the summer if they do receive decent offers. Following the signing of Gael Clichy from Arsenal, Bridge has fallen further behind the pecking order with Aleksandr Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta also ahead of him. 

However, Bridge is a highly paid footballer at £90,000-a-week wages, which could be one of the reasons why City could find it difficult to find a suitor for the defender. Bridge was loaned out to West Ham United, when they desperately needed to bring in quality as they were at the bottom of the table before they signed the former Chelsea left back on loan.

Though Bridge had some decent games for the Hammers, he was not consistent enough and ultimately could not help them avoid relegation. If they had not been relegated, they could have targeted a permanent deal for him but now, City will have to settle for a lower transfer fee because Bridge's high wages could put off likely suitors.

15. Franck Ribery

According to this article which is based on the information provided by Bild, Franck Ribery is the highest paid player in the Bundesliga after extending his contract till 2015 with Bayern Munich. The French international reportedly earns around 833,000 Euros per month which is way ahead of his high earning team mates like Arjen Robben and Philip Lahm who are on around 583,000 Euros per month.

Though Ribery is one of the most talented players in the world, with the emergence of Arjen Robben and the superb performances of Bastian Schweinsteiger and some others in recent seasons, Bayern have not been very reliant on Ribery, though he remains a vital player. However, he is also very injury prone which is why paying such big money to a player who could miss vital games is a gamble.

The 28-year-old is one of the most exciting players in the world but with his injury problems a concern, it is fair to say that Bayern did take a risk in awarding such high wages and also a lengthy contract for Ribery.