Wayne Rooney
$20.4 million
Annual salary plus bonus: $7.1 million
Other income: $13.3 million
Team: England
Judging from the press coverage in soccer-mad England, the national team's hopes of clinching an elusive second World Cup title seem to be riding entirely on Wayne Rooney's right foot. The betting right now is that a broken metatarsal will not keep the 20-year-old Man U forward off the pitch in Germany. If it did, that would dent Rooney's earning potential. Already, there is talk that HarperCollins may postpone publishing the first installment of a $9.4 million, five-volume autobiography by the English soccer sensation.
Corporate comparison: Chuck Prince, the chief executive of Citigroup, was paid just over $20 million last year in salary, bonus, and restricted stock.