Roman Abramovich, who has relocated to the UK, topped the annual Sunday Times Pay List with earnings of 564 million pounds in 2003.

England skipper David Beckham delivered a knockout blow to Britain's world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis by taking over as the country's richest sportsman this year.

For the first time, the Real Madrid star has become the nation's biggest sports earner with income of 20.5 million pounds, according to the Sunday Times Rich List which monitors the top 500 money makers in Britain every year.

Lewis has lost his top place whose earnings slumped from 30 million pounds last year to a modest nine million pounds this time round.

The footballer is paid 4.68 million pounds by Real Madrid but the vast majority of his wealth comes through various endorsement deals which are so huge that fellow England international Michael Owen, the closest player to him in the list, is a relative pauper raking in 7.5 million pounds.

Splitting them in the list is former Chelsea owner Ken Bates who took 17.5 million pounds to the bank.

The massive individual earnings come at a time when some leading clubs are making worrying losses with Leeds in dire trouble at a reported 49.5 million pounds loss.

"I don't think players have been affected at all (by the game's economic downturn)," soccer agent Pini Zahavi, who brokered Roman Chelsea takeover, told the Sunday Times.

"Of course, there won't be crazy wages like there were before even at big clubs like Real Madrid. They won't go mad anymore.

"But that's in the future because players at top clubs are still getting top money. They have not been asked to give up their wages, they have deals, which have years to run.

"It will take another two or three years for the effects to be really felt."