Wayne Rooney, Manchester United

   2011 earning: €20.7 million

Wayne Rooney, born in 1985, is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team. At the age of nine, Rooney joined the youth team of Everton, for whom he made his professional debut in 2002. In the summer of 2004, Rooney signed with Manchester United. Since then, United has won three Premier League championships: the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and two League Cups.

Rooney was awarded the FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball in 2008, the England Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009, the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2010, and the FWA Footballer of the Year in 2010.