10 Historical Facts They Don't Teach You At School

8. Roman Charioteers Earned More Than Today's Footballers

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Andres Kudacki/AP/Press Association Images/Paramount Pictures

Those bloody footballers have it easy, eh? All they have to do is kick a ball around a nicely mowed field, stay fit, pose for Instagram selfies wearing the tiniest pants ever and watch as millions roll into their bank accounts.

It's all too easy to hate on Cristiano Ronaldo and co. for their unearned wealth, but it isn't a drop in the ocean compared to Roman charioteers.

Yes, we're serious. According to Peter Struck, a professor of classics at the University of Pennsylvania, Gaius Appuleius Diocles made more cash riding around the Circus Maximus than CR7 could ever dream of preening around the Santiago Bernabéu, checking himself out in a mobile phone.

Diocles is said to have amassed a fortune worth more than $15 billion in today's money, back when he was being all cool and Roman. So, take that, Ronaldo. You're not the world's best-paid sportsman and you probably never will be.

At least until his contract comes up for renewal and he gets a pay rise.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.