Beckham scores where it counts — in the bank

Robbie Fowler, a property magnate in North-West England, is fourth with a fortune rated at 28m pounds, ahead of Alan Shearer on 22m and Sol Campbell on 20m.

Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand, Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs are also sitting on fortunes of 20m pounds, which is a good deal more than their manager Sir Alex Ferguson. The Scot, who begins a new 4.5m pounds annual rolling contract in the summer, is said to be worth 15m. The consolation for him is that the list puts him well clear of Sven-Goran Eriksson on 10m and is more than double what Kevin Keegan and Arsene Wenger are estimated to be worth.

Some of the surprising inclusions in the top 20 are Phil Neville, whose 5m fortune is 2m less than his brother Gary’s, and Duncan Ferguson, the Everton striker who will come out of contract this summer but has an estimated wealth of 10m.

But all these numbers pale in comparison with the overall top 10, led by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, Britain’s richest man, on 7.5 billion poinds. He is followed by the Barbados-based investor Joe Lewis, whose investment company ENIC own Tottenham Hotspur but also retain an interest in Rangers.

There are no fewer than four of Manchester United’s major shareholders in the top 10, led by Dermot Desmond, the Irish investor, in third place with an 850m pounds fortune. The club’s second-largest shareholder, American Malcolm Glazer, is in sixth with 560m, followed by John Magnier, who owns 28.89 per cent of United and is the key to the future ownership of Old Trafford.

(The Daily Telegraph)

RICHEST FOOTBALLERS
£65mn: David Beckham (Real Madrid)
£37mn: Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal)
£30mn: Michael Owen (Real Madrid)
£28mn: Robbie Fowler (Manchester City)
£22mn: Alan Shearer (Newcastle United)
£20mn: Sol Campbell (Arsenal), Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane (Manchester United
£18mn: Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

THE MONEYMEN
• Roman Abramovich (£7.5bn)
CHELSEA

• Joseph Lewis (£1.8bn)
TOTTENHAM, RANGERS

• Dermot Desmond (£850mn)
CELTIC, MAN UNITED

• Trevor Hemmings (£700mn)
CHARLTON, PRESTON

• The Walker (Jack Walker died in 2000) Family (£650mn)
• Malcolm Glazer (£560mn)
MAN UNITED

• David Sullivan (£550mn)
Birmingham

• John Magnier (£520mn)
MAN UNITED

• David Gold (£495mn)
BIRMINGHAM

• Mohammed Fayed – Fulham and Harry Dobson – Man United (£470mn)