Football rich list: Roman Abramovich knocked off top spot by Manchester City owner

Roman Abramovich officially lost his place as football's richest man last night - as the new world order saw Manchester City named as the dominant financial force.

Chelsea's owner has headed the annual rich list of football owners, published in Four Four Two magazine, since arriving out of nowhere to oversee his blue revolution in 2003.

But five years later and having spent £600million on players, wages and Stamford Bridge, Abramovich has lost top spot to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the money man behind Manchester City. The transfer of power from Russian to Middle East oil is stark proof of the sheer scale of funds that City boss Mark Hughes has at his disposal.

Abramovich is now not even the wealthiest club boss in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, having been overtaken by Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, the major investor at QPR. Yet David Beckham's status as the richest player remains unchallenged with a fortune estimated at £125m, more than three times that of nearest - and distant - challenger Michael Owen.

The new sea change at the top is no surprise but suggests why Chelsea have entered a new era of relative austerity as they seek to become "self-funding" by the end of the next financial year.

While Abramovich's estimated wealth once stood at £7billion, he is believed to have lost a third of that in the world economic downturn.

That helps to explains why the Russian oligarch has turned off the money taps at the Bridge, telling boss Luiz Felipe Scolari there will be no money available in the transfer window, with even the £12m raised by the sale of Wayne Bridge placed on hold until the summer.

Sheikh Mansour's elevation to the top of the list, compiled by FourFourTwo magazine, is no surprise after his incredible takeover at City.

Even before his buy-out of Thaksin Shinawatra was completed, Sheikh Mansour, estimated to be worth £15bn, had gazumped Chelsea to land Scolari's prime target, Real Madrid striker Robinho, in a British record £32.5m deal.

That is just the start of a spree likely to surpass even Abramovich's outlay of £121m in his first year as Blues owner.

Bridge is set to be followed into Eastlands by a clutch of new signings as Sheikh Mansour gives Hughes the heaviest purse in the history of the game, despite a run of poor results including the FA Cup embarrassment by Nottingham Forest.

But the list suggests City could be given a run for their money by the new West London moneybags at Loftus Road if Portuguese coach Paulo Sousa can steer Rangers into the Premier League.

In addition to Mittal's £12.5bn, fellow director Bernie Ecclestone is worth £2.4bn while Italian Flavio Briatore is also in the super-rich clan, although so far spending at the club has been kept at minimal levels.

And the accumulation of capital in London sees Spurs shareholder Joe Lewis fourth on the list with £2.5bn, with potential Arsenal owners Stan Kroenke of the US and Russian Alisher Usmanov sixth and seventh respectively.

Despite the huge outlay planned at City, Abramovich's cloth-cutting may be a more realistic gauge to the future, suggests Tom Cannon, professor of strategic development at Liverpool University.

He said: "Season ticket numbers will probably be down by about 10 per cent.

"But renewals will be down by at least 15 or 20 per cent. That's where the problems will be as you go down the divisions."

Further down the list, England boss Fabio Capello is said to be worth £25m, due to his £6m salary and £10m art collection, meaning he is richer than all his players except Beckham, Wayne Rooney (£35m) and Rio Ferdinand (£28m).

Arsene Wenger is in the familiar position of staring up at Sir Alex Ferguson, worth £22m compared to the Arsenal boss who has £14m.

And one man who can enjoy an easy retirement is Robbie Fowler, worth £28m through property investments, although their value may have fallen over the past year.

See the Players' Rich List in pictures

Rich List Top 20
1 Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Man City) £15billion
2 Lakshmi Mittal and family (QPR) £12.5bn
3 Roman Abramovich (Chelsea) £7bn
4 Joe Lewis (Tottenham) £2.5bn
5 Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone (QPR) £2.4bn
6 Stanley Kroenke (Arsenal) £2.245bn
7 Alisher Usmanov (Arsenal) £1.5bn
8= Lord Grantchester & the Moores Family (Everton) £1.2bn
8= Dermot Desmond (Celtic) £1.2bn
10= Lord Ashcroft (Watford) £1.1bn
10= Malcolm Glazer and family (Man Utd) £1.1bn
12 Simon Keswick (Cheltenham) £966m
13 Trevor Hemmings (Preston) £900m
14 Mike Ashley (Newcastle) £800m
15 Randy Lerner (Aston Villa) £750m
16 Tom Hicks (Liverpool) £700m
17 The Walker Family (Blackburn) £660m
18 Mohammed Al Fayed (Fulham) £650m
19 Sir David Murray (Rangers) £600m
20 Steve Morgan (Wolves) £400m

See the full list in the new issue of Four Four Two, out now.

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