The richest sports people in Ireland have been revealed and it may come as a surprise to find that there are no soccer players in the top two.
Manchester United and Ireland legend Roy Keane only made it into third place on the rich list, which was published by the Sunday Times.
In fact, the top two wealthiest Irish sportsmen are both golfers. No prizes for guessing that top spot is taken by world number one Rory McIlroy, who is worth an estimated €52m.
McIlroy has won four major tournaments in his career to date with only the Masters so far eluding him. He has also been able to take advantage of his star status with some highly lucrative advertising and sponsorship deals.
He is closely followed by fellow major winning golfer Pádraig Harrington. The Dublin star is slightly less wealthy, with an estimated fortune of €51m.
Both have a considerably higher bank balance than Keane who comes in third place with €40m.
Another golfer, Graeme McDowell is in fourth place with a €34m fortune, while the other soccer playing Keane – Ireland’s all-time leading goal scorer Robbie Keane – is in fifth with €27m.
Also in the top 10 are former Chelsea star Damian Duff with €26m, golfer Darren Clarke (€25m) legendary jockey Tony McCoy who is worth €18m, Republic of Ireland soccer manager Martin O’Neill (also €18m) and soccer player John O’Shea, who is worth €16m.
With no place in the top ten for rugby legends Brian O’Driscoll and Ronan O’Gara or boxing world champions Carl Frampton and Andy Lee, it would seem that golf and soccer are the sports where the biggest money is to be made.
The top ten
Rory McIlroy (€52m)
Pádraig Harrington (€52m)
Roy Keane (€40m)
Graeme McDowell (€34m)
Robbie Keane (€27m)
Damian Duff (€26m)
Darren Clarke (€25m)
Tony McCoy (€18m)
Martin O’Neill (€18m)
John O’Shea (€16m)
