The Football Rich List 2011/12: The Players

20. Craig Bellamy £12m

Liverpool (New entry)

Craig Bellamy has signed for nine different clubs and racked up £47m in transfer fees, but neither figure changed when he joined Liverpool on August's transfer deadline day: he was moving back to Anfield on a free transfer. The wandering Welsh winger started at Norwich and moved to Coventry, Newcastle, Celtic (on loan), Blackburn, Liverpool, West Ham, Manchester City and Cardiff (on loan) before he made his return to Anfield.
His Manchester City salary was £90,000 a week and the Blues paid that even during his year long loan to Cardiff. His company CD Bellamy showed nearly £500,000 of net assets in 2009-10. In all, the fiery Bellamy has won 63 Wales caps and is the fifth-highest goalscorer in Wales' history. He should be worth at least £12m.

FourFourTwo's Liverpool club news page

18. Damien Duff £13m

Fulham (Last year £13m, 18th)

A one-year contract extension signed in August 2011 will keep him at Craven Cottage until at least the summer of 2013. He may stay longer if he's wanted, as Duff is not the type to agitate for a move for purely financial gain. In 2009 he joined Fulham from relegated Newcastle on a £45,000-a-week deal, but  at St James' Park he had been on a five-year £70,000-a-week deal which didn't include a relegation reduction clause: he'd have been perfectly within his rights to stay put and earn a million or so more.
Duff has invested heavily in property in Ireland, with homes also in London, Newcastle and the Caribbean. Duff also has an endorsement contract with Lucozade and his company Lightzest showed £1.1m of 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 keep Duff at £13m this year as property prices in Ireland particularly have been hammered.

FourFourTwo's Fulham club news page

18. Robbie Keane £13m

LA Galaxy (New entry)

Robbie's gone to Hollywood. Now playing for his tenth club since he made his debut as 17-year old for Wolves, Keane moved to America in August to play alongside David Beckham at LA Galaxy.
The Republic of Ireland's captain, with a record number of goals and outfield caps, has commanded more than £77m in transfer fees during his career. He was on £80,000 a week during his six-month spell at Liverpool in 2008-09 but he returned to Spurs, reportedly for £10,000 a week less. Keane signed a two-year deal believed to be worth around £3.5 million to move to America. With his share of transfers and his various contracts, Keane should be worth around £13m.

14. Ashley Cole £14m

Chelsea (Re-entry)

It's doubtful that Ashley Cole will ever live down the passage in his autobiography about his explosive outrage in 2006 when Arsenal failed to raise his pay to £60,000 a week: "When I heard '£55,000', I almost swerved off the road." Happily for Cole, Chelsea were happy to give him £90,000 a week, sending Arsene Wenger £5m and William Gallas in exchange. That year, Cole married Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy; they separated in February 2010 and were divorced in September that year.
Perhaps wary of amazement-activated automobile accidents, Chelsea willingly raised his contract to £120,000 a week in September 2009. His company, Kenzie Promotions, showed £1.1m of net assets in 2009-10. Cole also has a lucrative boot deal. Let's just hope he has a hands-free phone.

FourFourTwo's Chelsea club news page

14. Carlos Tevez £14m

Manchester Cityish (New entry)

Van Halen singer David Lee Roth once said that "Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it." At the moment, most people at Manchester City seem content for Carlos Tevez to sail his own yacht down the Manchester Ship Canal and on to Buenos Aires, Bora Bora or anywhere but Eastlands. Tevez's apparent refusal to come on as a substitute at Bayern Munich has led to his suspension pending an internal investgation, with manager Roberto Mancini insisting the Argentinian will never play for him again.
Whether his fault or not, controversy has followed Tevez around England: the third-party agreement by which West Ham brought him to Europe, the decision to sign for City despite a successful loan spell at Manchester United leading to a lucrative permanent contract offer, and the gleeful "Welcome to Manchester" poster erected by the Blues on his switch from the Red Devils.
On the field – when he gets that far – Tevez has rarely done anything but give it all, with 93 goals in 212 appearances for English clubs. He earned around £9m all told in his three years at Upton Park and Old Trafford, but City whacked that up to a £140,000 a week. With his Nike boot deal added, Tevez should easily be worth £14m.

FourFourTwo's Manchester City club news page

NOT AS RICH AS Stephen King (author) £18m