Abramovich tops soccer rich list

Players led by England captain David Beckham make up almost a quarter of the top 100 on Britain's soccer rich list although Chelsea's owner Roman Abramovich sits on top of the pile.

Real Madrid midfielder Beckham is estimated to be worth 75 million pounds and ranks only 32nd on the list, which includes owners, board members and shareholders.

Soccer magazine FourFourTwo estimated that Russian billionaire Abramovich is worth 10 billion pounds and he is followed by Joe Lewis, who has a stake in Tottenham Hotspur and Rangers, with two billion.

The magazine's third annual rich list in the January issue shows there are 22 players in the top 100 compared to just nine two years ago, with two in the top 50 for the first time.

Arsenal's Dutch forward Dennis Bergkamp trails Beckham with 37 million pounds and is the only other player in the top 50, rising seven places to sneak in at number 48.

Celtic's largest shareholder Dermot Desmond is ranked number three with 867 million pounds followed by another Spurs shareholder, former club chairman Alan Sugar, with 760 million.

United's American owner Malcolm Glazer has moved up one place to number five with an estimated 735 million pounds.

Club managers are also represented in the top 100 although they come way down the list with Chelsea's Jose Mourinho leading the bosses with 20 million pounds in 70th place.

Manchester United's Alex Ferguson is a couple of million pounds behind his Portuguese rival in 82nd place with England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson ranked 88th with 12 million.

Arsenal, struggling in the Premier League title race, have the most representatives on the list with eight followed by Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle United with six.