The world of professional sports is not the only one "faster, higher, stronger". There is another dimension in it that causes an envious sigh in ordinary mortals - money.
Forbes magazine calculated how much money Russian athletes have earned over the past 10 years, and what proportion of them are actually contracts, how many prizes received for winnings, and how much media activities related to sports are only indirectly.
The result is a rating of the highest paid Russian athletes of the decade, which we present to your attention.
10.Andrey Arshavin
Earned in 10 years: $ 43.3 million.
According to Forbes, the top 10 highest paid Russian athletes over the past 10 years are opened by footballer Andrei Arshavin. Now he has not played for a long time: he coaches a little, comments a little and gives valuable advice to the head of the Zenit football club, with which his stellar years are associated.
And Andrei got into the Forbes list because after Zenit's outstanding victories at the UEFA Super Cup in 2008, he was noticed and invited by Arsenal for an amount of $ 16.5 million. Which made up a third of what Andrei earned in 10 years.
9.Sergey Bobrovsky
Earned in 10 years: $ 44.4 million.
In the list of the most “money” Russian athletes of the decade, hockey players are confidently leading. Of the 10 places in the rating, they firmly settled on six. Russian sport has always been famous for its hockey traditions, and although the NHL is rather stingy compared to other clubs, the salaries of top players there exceed $ 10 million. In year.
Bobrovsky was no exception, and even though Bryzgalov ousted him from Philadelphia, Sergei managed to sign a profitable agreement with the Florida Panthers. Now Bobrovsky is the second highest paid among all hockey goalkeepers in the world.
8. Yuri Zhirkov
Earned in 10 years: $ 49.7 million.
Another native of Zenit, who was fortunate enough to be bought out by a foreign club. Zhirkov was flattered by Chelsea in the stellar years for Russian football in 2008-2009, but Yuri did not have contact with the British.
However, he continues to play to this day, and last year put the third tick in front of the title of the champion of Russia.
7. Alexander Radulov
Earned in 10 years: $ 58.5 million.
The year 2014 affected not only the pockets of ordinary Russians, but also the KHL players. If earlier the salaries of top hockey players corresponded (or even exceeded) the salaries of their colleagues from the NHL, then after the crisis the situation in Russian hockey was not so rosy.
If in 2008 Radulov decided to leave Nashville for the Ufa hockey club, because there he was promised to be paid 4 times more, then in 2016 his gaze turned to the other side of the ocean. And not in vain, because a year later Alexander signed a cash contract with Dallas for more than $ 30 million.
6. Pavel Datsyuk
Earned in 10 years: $ 63.6 million.
This Russian hockey player, who became world champion in 2012 and Olympic champion in 2018, has played for Americans since the early 2000s.About 15 years of his sports career were devoted to the Detroit Red Wings.
In 2017, Datsyuk moved back to his homeland, becoming one of the top players in both game and money terms in Russia.
5. Ilya Kovalchuk
Earned in 10 years: $ 72 million.
Oddly enough, Ilya did not lose money at all after leaving the New Jersey Devils. The KHL could still pay the player a salary comparable to the NHL. In addition, taxation in Russia was much more lenient towards big business.
Therefore, having rejected the one hundred millionth contact with the Devils, Ilya feels quite comfortable (financially) in the Russian open spaces. And even the crisis did not hit his income hard. True, since 2017, Kovalchuk kept looking in the direction of the United States until he was bought by Montreal for a modest $ 700,000.
4. Timofey Mozgov
Earned in 10 years: $ 72 million.
The only basketball player in the ranking of the richest athletes in Russia over the past decade, almost from the very beginning of his "adult" sports career, he played for teams from the United States. And this could not but affect his income.
It started with a good deal with the New York Knicks, just a couple of tenths short of $ 10 million. Timofey's sports career in American basketball clubs developed quite successfully, he became the first Russian to receive the title of NBA champion. Already in 2016, his salary reached $ 64 million in 4 years.
However, then a series of injuries happened, culminating in Mozgov's expulsion and his transfer to his native Khimki, where he once began his sports career. How soon the athlete will return to the site is unclear, he is still recovering from injury.
3. Evgeny Malkin
Earned in 10 years: $ 94.6 million.
The beginning of the decade was not brilliant for Eugene: either defeat in the Olympics, or injury. However, he was able to turn fate, and thanks to the brilliant play of this hockey player, the Pittsburgh club extended the contract with him for an impressive amount of 76 million dollars.
Still, how not to try to keep a player who received the Stanley Cup three times and became the world champion twice? And in 2019, Malkin overcame the milestone of 100 points in the championships. Before him, only four Russian athletes managed it.
2. Alexander Ovechkin
Earned in 10 years: $ 136.9 million.
In 2010, Ovechkin held the top income among Russian hockey players due to his sporting achievements. He was then one of the most "expensive" hockey players in the NHL.
But now the amount of banknotes in his pocket is replenished in large part thanks to advertising revenue. Ovechkin is not only successful as an athlete (each season there are at least 30 goals scored in his track record), but also has an attractive appearance and a charming smile. Another component of success, according to the athlete, is his exemplary behavior, respect for his own fans and the general image of a good person.
True, according to Alexander, hockey players do not earn a lot on advertising, and the closed form of hockey players is to blame (behind a closed mask you cannot see the face, and behind baggy ammunition - a figure). But this did not stop him from advertising many and often sports goods, then commercial services (in the fall he became the face of Promsvyazbank).
Despite all the monetary attractiveness of the NHL, the league's policy towards the Olympics is not as free as the famous hockey player would like. The league categorically refuses to let its participants go to games in the midst of their own championship. And in the collection of Alexander's awards, only the Olympic gold medal is missing. Therefore, there are persistent rumors that when the contract with the current Ovechkin club ends (just on the eve of the upcoming Beijing Olympics), the sportsman will not renew it. At least until the Olympics are over.
1. Maria Sharapova
Earned in 10 years: $ 197.8 million
There are only ten tennis players worldwide who have received the Grand Slam, and Maria Sharapova is one of them. Unfortunately, her brilliant career was crippled by a doping scandal in 2016.And although, thanks to the voluntary recognition of the tennis player, the big sports bosses cut off her suspension from tournaments by 9 months, this did not save Sharapova's media career. But it was earnings from advertising that accounted for the lion's share of the money it received - at least 80%.
Involuntary rest also influenced the playing qualities of the tennis player. A brilliant return did not work: defeats followed one after another, and victories only occasionally, Maria was often injured and eventually moved from the top ten deep down in the sports hierarchy. This did not suit the proud athlete, and just a couple of days ago she announced that she was leaving the big sport. At the same time, she still retains the title of the highest paid Russian athlete of the decade in the Forbes ranking.
However, one should not regret the lost money opportunities, because Maria is now a candy tycoon. Last year, the company she created for the manufacture and sale of sweets made more than $ 20 million in turnover.