Barcelona star Lionel Messi passed out David Beckham as the world's top-earning footballer in 2009, according to a report Tuesday in France Football magazine.
The 22-year-old Argentine, who has scored eight goals in his last three games for Barca, tops the list with an annual income of 33 million euros (44.6 million dollars), dpa reported.
AC Milan loanee Beckham's current annual income at LA Galaxy amounts to 30.4 million euros, followed by Real Madrid players Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka on 30 and 18.8 million respectively.
Jose Mourinho of Inter Milan tops the list of best-paid coaches with 13 million euros a season.