World football's top 10 highest earners. WOW!

10. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) £14.8 million
Lewandowski became the second high-profile player to swap Dortmund for Bayern in the space of a year after Mario Goetze also made the switch. His five-year deal, excluding sponsorship, is said to be worth €11 million a year.

9. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) £15.6m
Aguero signed a new five-year contract worth £150,000-a-week with the Premier League champions back in August last year. The Argentine has insisted he will stay at the Etihad until the end of his new contract. 

8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St-Germain) £15.8m
The towering Swede, formerly with AC Milan, Barcelona, Juventus, Inter Milan, Ajax and Malmo, has enjoyed a magnificent time in Paris and expects to finish his career at PSG.

7. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) £16.5m
The England striker recently signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract at Man Utd, extending his current deal by four years in a deal worth up to £300,000-a-week

6. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) £17.5m
Real Madrid broke the world transfer record to sign the Tottenham forward. The Wales star agreed a £300,000-a-week, six-year deal after sealing an £85.3m (€100m) move which eclipsed the £80m Real paid Man Utd for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

 5. Robin van Persie (Manchester United) £18.8m
The 31-year-old remains uncertain about his future at Old Trafford, but the Dutchman certainly will not need worry about his retirement fund 

4. Thiago Silva (Paris St-Germain) £20.2m
The former Inter Milan defender joined one of the richest clubs in the world in 2012 and the Brazil centre-back now faetures highly on France Football's list

3. Neymar (Barcelona) £26.8m
After joining Barcelona from Santos for a fee of almost £50m and with a release clause of at least double that, it is little wonder that Neymar features high on the list 

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) £39.7m
The Portuguese may have won the European Cup, Copa del Rey, Uefa Super Cup, Fifa Club World Cup and Ballon d'Or award in the past 12 months, but the Real Madrid still falls short of being named France Football's richest player

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) £47.8m
The triple European Cup winner and three-time holder of the prestigious Ballon d'Or award may have lost ground to his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo, but the diminuitive Barcelona forward beats him hands down in the earning stakes 

                                                          Stay tuned for more...

Top 50 most shocking moments in Premier League history (50-41)

50. Bloodied Rio hit by coin at The Etihad

December 9, 2012

A 90th-minute winner in a local derby, against the team that robbed you of the Premier League title just over six months earlier, how could you not celebrate wildly? As Robin van Persie's free-kick found the bottom left-hand corner of Joe Hart's net to make it 3-2 to the away side, the Manchester United players ran straight to their travelling support at the Etihad Stadium to revel in the moment.

It was a turning point in United's pursuit of Manchester City's title, and an iconic one at that with every outfield player in red engulfed in the blue fumes of a smoke bomb thrown from the home end – but that was the less concerning of the two missiles that found their target from the stands.

Rio Ferdinand, the epitome of everything that United represented in Ferguson's later years, screamed into the stands filled with passion as he grabbed at his shirt. Suddenly though, blood was streaming from his head. What looked on live television like Ferdinand hitting himself in the eye was in fact a two-pence coin that came close to blinding the United defender, cutting him on the brow.

Rio Ferdinand was struck by a coin at the Etihad after Manchester United score the winning goal late on

At least Ferdinand saw the funny side of things, tweeting after: 'Whoever threw that coin, what a shot! Can't believe it was a copper 2p... could have at least been a £1 coin!'

Blood is visible on Ferdinand's brow after being struck by the coin as United beat Manchester City 3-2

 49. Campbell quits at half-time

February 1, 2006 

Few could forget Sol Campbell's arrival at Arsenal as a Tottenham Hotspur captain and academy product, and there won't be too many Arsenal fans who will forget the moment Campbell quit Highbury in 2006, either.

Arsenal were 2-1 down to West Ham with Campbell at fault for both goals. The big centre back was substituted at half-time but it wasn't until later that it was discovered he had left the ground there and then under a cloud of mystery.

The real reason for Campbell's quick exit only emerged years later in extracts from the former England defender's biography. 'As Campbell walked off the pitch he heard someone shout abuse and make the gesture of a hand fashioned into the shape of a gun,' it read.

'It was pointed in his direction. As the index finger pulled the trigger, the fan's lips made a little explosion and the mouth stretched itself into a bayonet smile. The fan did not flinch. He continued to stare. And to sneer.

'At half-time Campbell was not his usual self in the Arsenal dressing room. "I can't go on", Campbell said gently.'

Arsenal defender Sol Campbell (right) was substituted at half-time against West Ham on February 1, 2006

Swimming Olympic champion banned after failed drugs test

Park Tae-Hwan

South Korean former Olympic swimming champion Park Tae-hwan has received an 18-month ban after a failed drugs test.

Park is a two-time world champion and the first Korean to win an Olympic swimming medal.
The 25-year-old tested positive for testosterone in an out-of-competition test conducted by the sport's governing body Fina last September.
Park, who won 400m freestyle gold at Beijing 2008, will be able to return in time for the Rio Olympics next year.

Nigerian Star Striker leaves the pitch after being booed by own fans

Fenerbahce striker Emmanuel Emenike demanded to be substituted after being booed by his own fans during their 1-0 home win over rivals Besiktas.

The Nigeria international reacted angrily to jeers after losing the ball and took his shirt off, storming off the pitch, only be to be talked back on by his coaching staff.
He was replaced at half-time.

Novak Djokovic wins fourth Indian Wells title after beating Roger Federer in final

Djokovic holds aloft his trophy for winning at Indian Wells after his win over Federer in the final

 

Roger Federer went the way of Andy Murray as Novak Djokovic beat him to win the BNP Paribas title at Indian Wells.

World No 1 Djokovic dropped just five games in beating Murray in the semi-finals on Saturday and although Federer fared better in a 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 loss, another trophy is being inscribed with the Serbian's name.

This was a successful defence of the title he beat Federer to a year ago and puts the two men level on four Indian Wells crowns each.

Novak Djokovic was once again the King of Indian Wells as he clinched the BNP Paribas Open title

 

The Serb is congratulated by Federer after his victory at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden

 

Djokovic celebrates after closing out the match in the third set to win his fourth Indian Wells title

 

The world No 1 made it back-to-back titles in California after beating Roger Federer in the final

 

 

Aside from that, Djokovic is in such frightening form that it is hard to see who can stop him in 2015, although that may change with the clay-court season and the French Open just around the corner.

For now, though, he remains the stand out player in a field that was once considered to have four men at the head of it.

He and Federer - the 17-time grand slam champion - could not be separated early on but Djokovic soon found a way into the match.

Louis van Gaal's side now five points ahead of Reds in Premier League as the Red Devils beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield

Louis van Gaal is beginning to turn things around at Manchester United and beat Liverpool 2-1 on Sunday

 

The former Everton midfielder was signed by David Moyes and was impressive at Anfield on Sunday

 

Van Gaal was delighted after masterminding the victory that cemented United's position in the top four

 

Herrera was impressive in midfield and was calm in possession in the Premier League match on Sunday

 

Daley Blind surges forward from left back to beat Liverpool defender Emre Can

 

 

Michael Carrick put in another composed display for Van Gaal - he exudes confidence in the holding role

 

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney celebrates at the final whistle after his side beat Liverpool

 

Spanish midfielder Juan Mata celebrates after netting a double against Liverpool in the Premier League

 

Another of Moyes' signings Juan Mata put in his best performance in the United shirt against Liverpool

 

Smalling and defensive partner Phil Jones (left) have improved in recent weeks for Manchester United

 

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal embraces midfielder Marouane Fellaini after the game

 

 

Mario Balotelli is held back by Liverpool supporters after tussling with Chris Smalling at Anfield

 

Mata nets his second goal at Anfield - a superb scissor kick past goalkeeper Simon Mignolet

 

Mata nets his second goal at Anfield - a superb scissor kick past goalkeeper Simon Mignolet

 

No need for pages of detailed statistics, the proof of Manchester United’s style was evident all over the Anfield turf. The grace of Juan Mata’s two goals and the swarm of white shirts, particularly in the first half, did more for Louis van Gaal than any bits of A4 paper bearing pitch maps and percentages.

For Intruiging ties set up as the UEFA Europa League final eight draw is made

                                               Europa League quarter-finals
                                                            Wolfsburg v Napoli
                                                       Dynamo Kiev v Fiorentina
                                                           Dnipro v Club Brugge
                                                                 Sevilla v Zenit

         Defending Europa League champions Sevilla will face Zenit St Petersburg in the quarter-finals

The draw for the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals has been made in Nyon, pitting together two former winners and bringing positive omens for VfL Wolfsburg, ACF Fiorentina and holders Sevilla FC.
Two of the three previous winners left, Sevilla and Zenit met three times in 2005/06, two of them in the last eight with the Spanish side triumphing 5-2 on aggregate en route to lifting the UEFA Cup for the first time.