English football’s rich list

Wayne Rooney has topped English football’s rich list with a fortune estimated at £45 million.

The 28-year-old, who picks up £250,000-a-week in wages, is reportedly worth over £8m more than his nearest rival and  team-mate Rio Ferdinand, who came second on the list and is one of four Manchester United players in the top ten.

Ferdinand, who has a new book out this week, is worth an estimated £37m according to the list, which was compiled by Wealth-X.

Chelsea’s Frank Lampard came in third with £31m to his name – ahead of Blues team-mate John Terry, who shared fourth spot with his successor as England captain, Steven Gerrard. Both are worth an estimated £29m.

Joe Cole was perhaps surprisingly ranked sixth with a worth of £22m – surprising in the sense that most people had forgotten he was still a professional footballer –  while Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole coming in seventh with £20m.

United had another two players on the list: Michael Carrick was eighth with £16m while James Milner – the only Manchester City player, and the youngest on the list – is joint ninth on the list alongside Ashley Young with £13m. Yes, that Ashley Young.