The Football Rich List 2010/11: The Players

18. Damien Duff £13m

Fulham Age 31 (Last year £12m, 15th)
He must love his football, Damien Duff. It's not his fault that Newcastle didn't include a relegation clause automatically lowering the £70,000 weekly wage on a five-year deal with two seasons left to run when the Toon went down. Some might call his move to Fulham a desertion but considering he appears to have taken a £25,000 a week hit to sign at Craven Cottage, when many might have been tempted to count the coins up at Newcastle.
Instead he moved back to the capital, putting his £3m Newcastle home up for sale. It didn't find a buyer so Duff has put it up for rent, to add to a property portfolio also including homes in London, the Caribbean and particularly heavy investment in Ireland. Duff also has an endorsement contract with Lucozade and his company Lightzest showed £1.1m net assets in 2008-09. But despite his share of £22m transfers (including a £17m move from Blackburn to Chelsea in 2003 and the £5m move to Newcastle in 2006) we only raise Duff slightly this year to £13m.
FourFourTwo.com's Fulham news page

18. Emile Heskey £13m

Aston Villa Age 32 (Last year £13m, 14th)
Perhaps unfairly derided for England's failure in South Africa, Emile Heskey will be happy to be reunited with new Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier. The Frenchman broke Liverpool's transfer record to sign Heskey from Leicester in 2000 for £11m, and when Heskey moved to Birmingham in summer 2004 the deal was structured so the initial £3.5m fee could have risen to £6.25m – another club record, although Blues escaped the final £1.5m payment by the simple method of getting relegated. Heskey stayed in the top flight by moving to Wigan for £5.5m – another club record – and in January 2009, with only six months left on his contract, he was sold to Villa for a further £3.5m.
Heskey had earned £8.2m at Liverpool and Birmingham gave him a five-year contract worth £30,000 a week. Wigan raisd this to £40,000 a week and his Villa wage is thought to be closer to £35,000 a week. His company Emile Heskey Promotions had £379,000 net assets in 2008-09. In all Heskey's share of the transfer fees, his nine years at the top and a boot deal with Nike take him to £13m. Not bad for someone alleged to be a donkey.
FourFourTwo.com's Aston Villa news page

18. Michael Essien £13m

Chelsea Age 27 (New entry)
Lyon didn't want to sell Michael Essien, but Chelsea kept on bidding until they accepted £26m. You can see why. A superb athlete who once told FourFourTwo he'd happily play another game immediately after the usual 90-minute runaround, Ghana's star player is also an excellent footballer who has become even more important for Chelsea during the absence of Frank Lampard.
He signed an £80,000 a week contract in the summer of 2009 which keeps him at Stamford Bridge until 2013. Endorsement deals and promotional work should take him to £13m.
FourFourTwo.com's Chelsea news page

14. Gary Neville £14m

Manchester United Age 35 (Last year £12m, 15th)
"Red Nev" joined Manchester United as a schoolboy in 1991; 10 years later he signed a six-year £11m contract. Since then his wages have risen to around £70,000 a week. Neville also has a Diadora boot deal to add to his opinion columns and role in a Pepsi ad. He has two homes near Manchester including a £1.5m Manchester penthouse plus a £700,000 villa on his beloved isle of Malta. He has put his pad near Bolton on the market with a £6m price tag and applied for permission to build an eco-friendly house locally.

FourFourTwo.com's Manchester United news page

14. Joe Cole £14m

Liverpool Age 28 (Last year £11m, 18th)
This time last year, Chelsea and Joe Cole were unable to reach agreement on a contract extension, amid claims that club were unwilling to grant him –- or, for that matter, Michael Ballack – a six-figure weekly wage. Fellow Champions League qualifiers Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham were all possible destinations but in the end Cole signed a four-year, £90,000-a-week contract with Liverpool.
A schoolboy prodigy, Cole made his debut for West Ham in 1998.  His 2003 move from West Ham to Chelsea in a £6.5m deal increased his salary from £25,000 a week to £30,000. He signed an £80,000 a week Chelsea contract in June 2006 and had endorsement deals with Samsung and Adidas. He enjoys the usual footballer trappings of property in Dubai and fast cars. There is little in his company, Joe Cole Promotions, with just £307,000 net assets in 2008-09.
FourFourTwo.com's Liverpool news page