ANKARA
Barcelona's Argentine star Lionel Messi is the best paid footballer in 2014, according to research published Wednesday by France Football magazine.
Messi comes out on top of the list with an income of €65 million, including the player's annual salary, advertisement revenue and premiums.
Messi is followed by Real Madrid's Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, who received €54 million last year. Meanwhile, Barcelona's Brazilian forward Neymar came in third with €36.5 million.
Top 20 best paid footballers in 2014 in European currency are:
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona): 65
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid): 54
3. Neymar (Barcelona): 36.5
4. Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain): 27.5
5. Robin van Persie (Manchester United): 25.6
6. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid): 23.8
7. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United): 22.5
8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain): 21.5
9. Sergie Aguero (Manchester City): 21.2
10. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich): 20.2
11. Eden Hazard (Chelsea): 20
12. Yaya Toure (Manchester City): 20
13. Angel Di Maria (Manchester United): 18.5
14. Radamel Falcao (Manchester United): 18.5
15. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid): 17.8
16. David Silva (Manchester City): 17.3
17. Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea): 17.3
18. David Luiz (Paris Saint-Germain): 17.2
19. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid): 17
20. Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich): 16.9
2014 best paid manager was Chelsea's Mourinho
The magazine's research shows that Chelsea's Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho hit the top of the list with €18 million.
Real Madrid's Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti came in second place with €15.5 million and Spanish manager of Bayern Munich, Josep Guardiola ranked third with an income of €15.2 million.
Top 20 best paid managers in 2014:
1. Jose Mourinho (Chelsea): 18 million
2. Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid): 15.5
3. Josep Guardiola (Bayern Munich): 15.2
4. Arsene Wenger (Arsenal): 11.3
5. Louis van Gaal (Manchester United): 10
6. Fabio Capello (Russia): 9
7. Andre Villas-Boas (Zenit): 8.5
8. Sven-Goran Eriksson (Shanghai SIPG): 8
9. Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund): 7.2
10. Laurent Blanc (Paris Saint-Germain): 7
11. David Moyes (Real Sociedad): 7
12. Rafael Benitez (Napoli): 6.9
13. Walter Mazzarri (Inter): 6.8
14. Roberto Di Matteo (Schalke 04): 6
15. Luciano Spalletti (Zenit): 5.5
16. Luis Enrique (Barcelona): 5.5
17. Antonio Conte (Italy): 5.3
18. Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City): 5.2
19. Brendan Rodgers (Liverpool): 4.9
20. Roberto Mancini (Inter): 4.8
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