Meet Dario Conca: The highest earning football player on the globe (Video)

Dario Leonardo Conca is not a name commonly placed alongside the superstars of world football. However the Argentinian attacking midfielder currently earns more than the two best players in the world Ronaldo and Messi, and has rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in the game. Who is he? Let me introduce you....

Dario Conca is a tale of a 'forgotten superstar' as he is known in the Brazilian press and rightly so: Conca was elected as the best player of Compeonato Brasileiro Serie A in 2009 and 2010. Conca's potential was clear for all to see. After making his début for Tigre at the tender age of 15 he moved on to River Plate under the guidance of Manuel Pellegrini. Conca's loan move to Chilean side Universidad Catolica proved beneficial as he aided the side to the Chilean Primera Division in 2005, his first major honour.

It would take another five years for Conca to win his next title after lifting the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A during a loan spell at Fluminense. Conca's route to Fluminense came via another loan spell at Rosario Central, before Vasco da Gama opened the door to Brazil for the midfielder after some impressive displays. After joining up with Fluminense in 2008, once again initially on loan, Conca impressed in a side that contained the likes of current PSG defender Thiago Silva and Thiago Neves and earned himself a long-term contract.

Conca's exploits for Fluminense, in particular the excellent displays during the team's 2008 Copa Libertadores campaign, attracted attention from Guangzhou Evergrande from the Chinese Super League where the midfielder currently earns in the region of $12.5M a year after being purchased for a then domestic record fee of $10 million. The move immediately paid off as Conca scored 9 in his first 15 appearances for the club and helped clinch the club's first title in its history. Conca has since gone on to score 5 in 8 games in the AFC Champions League and has also won the Chinese FA Super Cup this year.

Conca's time in China has not come without its controversy as the 29 year old was banned for 9 games after his derisory remarks about his role in the side on Weibo. However Conca has been reinstated into the team after the arrival of World Cup winning coach Marcelo Lippi. Does he deserve to earn more than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Why not decide for yourselves...

Tomos Llewellyn