Beckham and Ronaldinho Are Not The Best Players In The World But They Are The Game's Biggest Celebrities:

And they both play for AC Milan:



Beckham and Ronaldinho made the Forbes.com Celebrity 100 list for 2009.

Topping list is actress Angelina Jolie.

The top athlete is Tiger Woods at position number 5.

The two Milan players came in at positions 28 and 55 respectively.

Forbes.com on how they come up with their celebrity list:

"The Celebrity 100, which includes film and television actors, models, chefs, athletes, authors and musicians, is a measure of entertainment-related earnings and media visibility (exposure in print, television, radio and online). The earnings estimates consist of pre-tax income between June 2008 and June 2009. Management, agent and attorney fees are not deducted."

"Earnings estimates are for June 2008 to June 2009. Includes dollars earned solely from entertainment income. Management, agent and attorney fees have not been deducted. Figures rounded off where appropriate."

Forbes.com on the sources they use to generate their list:

"Sources include Billboard, Pollstar, Adams Media Research, Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BookScan. Rankings are generated by combining earnings with other metrics: Web mentions on Google press clips compiled by LexisNexis; TV/radio mentions by Factiva; and number of times a celebrity's face appeared on the cover of 25 major consumer magazines." (Source)

Here's what Forbes.com said of Beckham:

"The world's most famous footballer might be ending his run in the U.S. after playing on loan with AC Milan. Beckham will return to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy in July, when the MLS season is half over. The midfielder has an escape clause that allows him to terminate the final two years of his five-year, $32.5 million Galaxy contract after this season. While Beckham's playing days in the U.S. might end soon, he has said he wants to buy an MLS team when time on the pitch is over. After 10 years together, Beckham parted ways with his Pepsi sponsorship at the end of 2008." (Source)

And here's what Forbes.com said of Ronaldinho:

"Ronaldinho's five-year run with FC Barcelona ended last summer when AC Milan paid a $33 million transfer fee for the rights to sign the two-time FIFA Player of the Year winner to a three-year contract. The Brazilian's best days on the pitch are likely behind him, but he retains lucrative endorsement deals with Nike, Pepsi and EA Sports." (Source)

As for what Bestplayerintheworld.com thinks of all this? Well, Beckham isn't on our list and we understand now why Ronaldinho still keeps a high ranking (8th) on our list: his celebrity. The fans still love him despite his poor form in recent years and our list is generated by the fans.

As of 12:00 pm Eastern Standard Time on Sunday June 7, 2009, here is how our Bestplayerintheworld.com list looks:

Lionel Messi 45% (769 votes)
Cristiano Ronaldo 23% (390 votes)
Steven Gerrard 7% (121 votes)
Andres Iniesta 4% (62 votes)
Fernando Torres 3% (54 votes)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic 2% (42 votes)
Kaka 2% (38 votes)
Wayne Rooney 1% (25 votes)
Ronaldinho 1% (25 votes)
Frank Lampard 1% (23 votes)
Andrei Arshavin 1% (21 votes)
Nemanja Vidic 1% (14 votes)
Didier Drogba 1% (12 votes)
Xavi Hernandez 1% (11 votes)
Franck Ribery 1% (11 votes)
Cesc Fabregas 1% (9 votes)
Arjen Robben <1% (8 votes)
Samuel Eto'o 1% (9 votes)
Robinho 1% (11 votes)
Petr Cech <1% (6 votes)
Emmanuel Adebayor <1% (5 votes)
Iker Casillas 1% (9 votes)
Gianluigi Buffon <1% (5 votes)
David Villa <1% (6 votes)
Luka Modric <1% (5 votes)
Sergio (Kun) Aguero <1% (4 votes)
Ashley Young <1% (3 votes)

Total Votes: 1698