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Football

08th Jul 2015

A former Sunderland striker is about to become one of the planet’s wealthiest footballers

No wonder he looks happy

Kevin McGillicuddy

Nice money if you can get it.

This is Asamoah Gyan.

You may remember him from such such disastrous seasons as his time at Sunderland following the 2010 World Cup, when he scored 10 goals after signing for the club for a club record £13million.

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 12:  Asamoah Gyan of Sunderland celebrates scoring the first goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur at the Stadium of Light on February 12, 2011 in Sunderland, England.  (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Since that season, he has led an, what shall we say, interesting life. He went to AL Ain on loan in 2011 and then moved there permanently in 2012.

He’s been a success for the Abu Dhabi club where he signed a deal worth an initial $6m but has seen that boosted in recent season and now earns $250,000 a week.

A week.

And sure he was only delighted to bang in the goals for that kind of cash.

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - MAY 18:  Asamoah Jyan of Al Ain celebrates after winning  the Presidents Cup Final match between Al Ain and Al Ahli  at Zayed Sports City on May 18, 2014 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.  (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

And now he looks absolutely positively chuffed to know that he is going to earn an incredible €13m a year after agreeing to join Chinese side Shanghai SIPG. The club is managed by another man who isn’t shy of a few euro in his back pocket, Sven-Goran Eriksson.

And on arriving at the airport today before signing the contract he looked like the happiest man in the world

https://twitter.com/FourFourTweet/status/618737556255961088

We think Ronaldo and Messi will be asking for a pay rise, as the Portugal ace earns just slightly more than the reported €1.2 million per week the Barcelona man earns.

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