Marcel Desailly Highest-Paid Footballer in the World

  • By Carol Kearney
  • Paris
  • Last updated on

Marcel Desailly
Marcel Desailly led People With Money’s annual list of the “100 highest paid footballers” released on Thursday.

It's been a rough year for the footballer, but at least he has his millions of dollars to ease the pain. 56-year-old Marcel Desailly has taken the No. 1 spot on People With Money’s top 10 highest-paid footballers for 2025 with an estimated $96 million in combined earnings.

UPDATE 04/04/2025 : This story seems to be false. (read more)

Marcel Desailly tops annual list of highest-paid footballers

In 2022 it looked like the footballer’s spectacular career was winding down. Suddenly, he was back on top. People With Money reports on Thursday (April 3) that Desailly is the highest-paid footballer in the world, pulling in an astonishing $96 million between March 2024 and March 2025, a nearly $60 million lead over his closest competition.

People With Money’s factors

In compiling this yearly list, the magazine considers factors such as upfront pay, profit participation, residuals, endorsements and advertising work.

The French footballer has an estimated net worth of $275 million. He owes his fortune to smart stock investments, substantial property holdings, lucrative endorsement deals with CoverGirl cosmetics. He also owns several restaurants (the “Fat Desailly Burger” chain) in Paris, a Football Team (the “Accra Angels”), has launched his own brand of Vodka (Pure Wonderdesailly - France), and is tackling the juniors market with a top-selling perfume (With Love from Marcel) and a fashion line called “Marcel Desailly Seduction”.

The ranking is significant for many Marcel fans, who have been waiting for his triumphant return to the glory days for what seems like a lifetime.

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