ENGLAND’S roaring Lionesses captured the heart of the nation on their way to victory at the Euros last year.
But while they will be hoping to go one better at the Women’s World Cup this summer, they face stiff competition from the likes of the USA, Spain, Germany and France.
In the money leagues, top stars like Marta and Megan Rapinoe may earn just a fraction of their equivalents in the men’s game.
However, the best players can still earn hundreds of thousands a year – boosted by sponsorship deals and lucrative side projects.
Here, we reveal some of the highest earners who will be dazzling in Australia and New Zealand over the coming weeks.
Marta
Brazilian Marta, 37, is often regarded as the best female footballer ever, so it’s no surprise she can command one of the highest salaries.
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The forward reportedly earns £311,000 a year at Orlando Pride, topped up by sponsorship deals with the likes of LATAM Airlines, Avon Brasil, shampoo brand Clear and pharmaceutical company Neo Quimica.
In some of her campaigns for Clear, she has appeared with Cristiano Ronaldo. She has also had deals with Coca-Cola and Puma.
Marta is Brazil’s all-time top goalscorer, with a record 17 World Cup goals, and has been named FIFA’s World Player of the Year five consecutive times.
Wendie Renard
French centre back Wendie, 33, has been the captain of the French women’s team for ten years.
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As the skipper of Lyon at club level, she is one of the most decorated players in modern times, with an astonishing 15 French league titles and eight European Cups to her name.
It’s no surprise then that she’s on a reported £298,000-a-year salary.
One of her sponsors is Adidas and she was previously an ambassador for MasterCard alongside England’s Alex Scott, too.
Earlier this year, she told fans she was pulling out of what will be her third World Cup.
She said in a statement: “It is a sad day, but necessary to preserve my mental health. It is with a heavy heart that I come to inform you of my decision to step back from the French team.”
However, after returning to the French team for friendlies against Colombia and Canada in April, she will be wearing the armband once more this tournament.
Megan Rapinoe
With her signature bleached hair and even more dazzling footwork, USA winger Megan is one of the most instantly recognisable female footballers in the world.
At the last World Cup in 2019, her celebration against France – in which she saluted the crowd with outstretched arms – became an instant meme and even went on to be added into the FIFA video game.
The athlete, 38, is thought to take home a salary of £348,000 from OL Reign and, according to Celebrity Net Worth, has a fortune of £3.9million.
She tops this up with sponsorship deals and cover interviews, having appeared on the front page of Sports Illustrated, Marie Claire, and InStyle.
Her brands deals include luxury fashion brand Loewe, Nike and Samsung.
Alex Morgan
England fans will remember USA striker Alex for her now infamous tea-drinking celebration, after scoring the winner against the Lionesses at the last World Cup.
The San Diego Wave FC captain – who CNW estimates has a fortune of £2.3million – has played in 217 international matches and made a short-lived move to Tottenham back in 2020.
Away from the pitch, the 34-year-old has published The Kicks, a four-book series for school children and even appeared in a music video for Maroon 5’s song “Girls Like You”, which features Cardi B.
Her long list of sponsorship deals include Nike, Panasonic, AT&T, Chobani, McDonald’s, P&G, Mondelez International, and Coca-Cola.
She is married to Servando Carrasco, also a football player, and they have one child together, three-year-old Charlie.
Lucy Bronze
British Lucy, 31, is one of the wealthiest Lionesses and is thought to take home around £200,000 a year for FC Barcelona.
The right-back has played for the England team since 2013 and has also represented the country in the Olympics. She tops up her earnings with deals from Pepsi, EE, Klarna, and Visa.
Lucy is believed to be the top-earning England player, but along with other Lionesses has slammed the FA’s decision not to pay players extra money on top of the funds dished out by FIFA this tournament.
Speaking about it, she said: “We want to keep pushing our own standards, but also our federations’ standards, the FIFA and UEFA standards. It isn’t just about the numbers. It is the principle of what we want to improve in women’s football.
“There is always another step the game can take. Whether that is commercial, on the pitch or off the pitch, whether it is performance based or not. It is about being rewarded for what we have done – we are the European Champions.”
Sam Kerr
Goal-machine Sam, 29, is believed to take home a salary of £400,000 a year at Chelsea, who she has just helped to another Women’s Super League title.
The Australian captains her national team and will be hoping to take them all the way as the hosts.
Her 13-year deal with Nike is thought to be worth $1million. She was also the first female player to appear on the cover of the FIFA video game.
Sam also has sponsorship deals with luxury watch brand IWC Schaffhausen, Australian bank CommBank, and EA Sports.
Chloe Kelly
England’s super-sub Chloe, 25, secured her place in the history books at last year’s Euros with her winning goal against Germany.
It is not known how much her Man City contract is worth, but the club’s average salary for female players is thought to be around £75,000 a year.
However, off the back of her legendary goal – and celebration – last year, Chloe remains one of England’s most marketable stars.
The Mail on Sunday reported that she was set to sign a deal with Land Rover worth up to £2 million.
A spokesperson for Chloe told the paper: “I can’t comment on her business dealings but… she is in demand.”
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She has also worked with Nike, KFC and last month appeared in a Calvin Klein ad alongside Alex Morgan.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
