Wayne Rooney tops Premier League rich list

Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney is the richest footballer in the Premier League with a fortune of £51m.

According to the Sunday Times Sport Rich List, the 27-year-old beats teammate Rio Ferdinand to top spot after increasing his wealth by £6m in the past year.

Ryan Giggs makes it three United players in the top four with a fortune of £34m, the same as Frank Lampard, who is Chelsea's richest player.

They are among 24 Premier League players to be included in a list of the 100 wealthiest sportsmen in Britain.

Premier League top scorer Robin van Persie is worth £12m, making his first appearance in the main list.

David Beckham is the richest sportsman in Britain with a wealth of £165m.

That puts Beckham at number 11 on the world sport rich list, which is topped by Tiger Woods, whose worth reaches £570m.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were the only two other footballers to make the top 20 of the world sport rich list, worth £125m and £120m respectively.

The list is based on land, property, assets such as art and racehorses or shares in companies, while bank accounts are not included.

Premier League rich list: 1. Wayne Rooney, £51m 2. Rio Ferdinand, £42m 3. Michael Owen, £38m 4. Ryan Giggs, £34m 5. Frank Lampard, £34m 6. Steven Gerrard, £33m 7. Fernando Torres, £26m 8. John Terry, £24m 9. Joe Cole, £21m 10. Petr Cech, £20m 11. Paul Scholes, £19m 12. Ashley Cole, £18m 13. Damien Duff, £18m 14. Carlos Tevez, £18m 15. Yaya Toure, £17m 16. Jamie Carragher, £16m 17. Dimitar Berbatov, £15m 18. Ji-Sung Park, £15m 19. David Silva, £15m 20. Emmanuel Adebayor, £14m 21. Sergio Aguero, £14m 22. Michael Carrick, £12m 23. Phil Neville, £12m 24. Robin van Persie, £12m