10 richest players at the 2013 Confederation Cup

As the 2013 FIFA Confederation Cup kicks off in Brazil, the biggest and the richest names, Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are not in the competition but there are couples of money bags around. Below is a list of 10 richest footballers that will dazzle the world in the next few days and hope to boost their earnings with a win.

1. David Villa (Barcelona) - £37m

David Villa’s fortune has been tied to his transfer in the La liga. He has benefited 15% of his £10 million transfer fees to Valencia in 2005 and £34m to Barcelona in 2010. Barcelona offered him a contract worth £94,000-a-week, with up to £814,000 a year on offer through bonuses.

The Spanish striker has been an important member of the Spanish side that conquered the world winning the World Cup and the European Championship.

As la Roja's all-time top goalscorer, Villa will hope to push further his goal tallies at the confederation cup.

The striker also rake in revenue from lucrative and long-running agreement with Adidas, and sponsorship agreements with Big Cola, Mahou, Maxibon and Gameloft.

2. Iker Casillas (Spain) - £30m

The all conquering Iker Casillas is the goalkeeper and captain of Spain. Although he was kept on the bench for a good part of the last season by Jose Mourinho, Del Bosquet dimmed it fit to bring the 30 million-dollar man to the competition.

The keeper has five Liga titles, two Champions League titles, a World Cup and two European Championship medals to his name, and at 31 he is already Spain’s most capped player having made 134 appearances for his country.

His current earning is from a £94,000-a-week deal and a further £488,000 a year in bonuses. Casillas enjoys several multi-million pound sponsorship deals with Adidas, Hyundai, Phillips, Head and Mahou. During Euro 2012 he also appeared in marketing campaigns for the likes of Iberd, Movistar, Chevrolet and Continental.

He boasts a £1.5m luxury mansion in northern Madrid and a three-story luxury mansion in his hometown of Avila.

3. Fernando Torres (Spain) - £25m

Fernando Torres has earned over 100 caps and helped his team to win a World Cup and two European Championships. He also picked up Champions League and FA Cup winners' medals with Chelsea in 2012 and the EUROPA cup in 2013.

The Spain international currently earn salary of $17m and has endorsements valued at $3m. Torres is ranked 72 among the Forbe's 100 richest athletes. The striker's fortune got a boost when he completed a record £50 million transfer from Liverpool in January 2011, that saw his weekly salary rise to £175,000 per week. He has endured a horrible spell at Chelsea since his arrival and will hope for better outing at the confederation cup.

4. Neymar (Brazil) £20 M

After several years in Santos, Neymar took the much expected move that boost his finances. The 21-year-old Brazilian superstar signed a five-year contract with Barcelona in May with a transfer fee of $74 million, after racking up 138 goals in 230 matches with Santos. Brazil is expected to make him the face of the 2014 World Cup. This will expectedly boost the striker's fortune even further.

5. Andrea Pirlo (Italy) $19.5 Million

The 34 year old Italian has an estimated net worth of $30 million. Having led the Azzuri to the final of the EURO 2012, Pirlo will hope to win the Confederation Cup to ensure that Italy win all three major FIFA competitions. The deep-lying mid-fielder plays for Juventus and is ranked 7th in the 2012 FIFA Balon d'Or. With two UEFA Champions League, two European Super Cups, three Serie A titles, a FIFA Club World Cup an Italian Super Cup and the Coppa Italia, Pirlo earns £47,000-a-week with the reigning Serie A champions in Turin, with a potential bonus of £407,000 a season. Pirlo’s wealth is a result of being a top performer for the last 15 years in Serie A and Italy and including two huge transfers. He has a lucrative sponsorship deal with Nike. He also has a stake in his father’s two ironworks in Brescia called Elg Steel.

 

6. Daniele De Rossi (Italy) - £18m

Rossi is coming into the confederation cup with a net worth of $25 million. The versatile Italian player can play both in defense and attack. Daniele de Rossi is playing for Serie A club Roma as midfielder and has been on the radar of new Chelsea coach, Jose Mourinho.

World Cup winner Daniele De Rossi became the joint highest paid Italian footballer in Serie A last year after earning a five-year contract extension with Roma worth £102,000-a-week.

The deal meant the midfielder overtook teammate and club captain Francesco Totti and put him on par with Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon as the best-paid Italian player in the league. His deal is also worth a further £300,000 in bonuses.

The 29-year-old Roma vice captain came through the club’s youth team, making his debut over a decade ago and appearing over 400 times for the club, He has also amassed over 80 caps for the Azzurri.

De Rossi’s wealth has been helped by him owning 50 percent of his image rights, said to be worth £3.7 million a year. Off-the-field, De Rossi has a lucrative sponsorship deal with Adidas as one of their poster boys and has enjoyed major deals with Pringles and Electronic Arts. A divorce in 2009 was costly, however.

De Rossi has also talked of his desire to move to the MLS in the future, while potentially lucrative moves to Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have also been mooted.

7. Xavi (Spain) - £17.5m

With impressive club and international successes, Xavi's fortune is not unexpected. The creative midfielder will marshal the Spain national team into the confederation cup.

Xavi has over 100 caps for his country. He has lifted a World Cup and two European Championships, six league titles and three Champions Leagues with Barcelona. He is also the record appearance holder for Barcelona. He has won an unprecedented three consecutive major international tournaments.

The 33-year-old earns £118,000-a-week with a further £814,000-a-season in bonuses. He has deals with Chevrolet and Iberdrola and has a lucrative boot deal with Adidas as one of their main poster boys. He owns a luxury mansion in his home city, Terrassa but lives with his parents and brothers.

8. Gianluigi Buffon £17 Million

35-year-old, Gianluigi Buffon is the captain of the Italian side and have won over 100 caps including a World Cup success with the Azzurri in 2006.

Buffon earn £100,000-a-week in Turin, with a further £407,000-a-year coming in the form of bonuses. He signed a contract extension earlier this year taking him to 2015. The snd has

As one of Italy’s highest-profile players, Buffon also commands big endorsement fees from the likes of Puma, Pepsi and Fiat.

 

9. Mario Balloteli (Italy) £15M

Balloteli is the first black to break into the Italian national team. Mario has been at the centre of several controversies but he will hope to have a successful confederation cup experience devoid of chaos. He started the competition on a bright note as he netted the winning goal for Italy against Mexico.

10. Javier Hernández Balcázar (Mexico) £10M

Javier Hernandez is the Mexican forward with a net worth of £10 million. The Manchester United striker has 47 appearance for his national side netting 32 goals before the competition. An equaliser during their first match and the Mexican increased his tally.

The FIFA Confederation Cup will showcase participating players and those who are able to cash in on the limelight may have their fortunes shored up as the transfer windows remain open and clubs are ready to up their expenses in other to win silverware.