As if being a professional footballer is not lucrative enough, FC Barcelona stars Gerard Piqué and Arturo Vidal managed to earn close to €500,000 while playing poker on Monday. The teammates took part in the Single-Day High Roller event at the Casino of Barcelona just after securing a victory for their club in La Liga over the weekend.

Piqué finished second in the tournament and bagged €352,950. Meanwhile, Vidal also managed to make it to the final table. He wasn't as successful as the centre-back, but he can't complain after winning €134,460. Both players brought home a combined total of €487,410.

According to the Poker News website, the FC Barcelona pair stole the spotlight at the final table. Aside from poker fans, there is no doubt that the venue was teeming with football fans who would have enjoyed seeing the footballers in a different environment. Less than 24 hours before the Single-Day High Roller event, both Piqué and Vidal were in action at the Camp Nou.

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FC Barcelona defeated Real Betis 5-2, in their first victory of the current La Liga season. Vidal also contributed in Sunday night's goal tally. The team was able to pull off an emphatic win despite the absence of their attacking trident. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele were all sidelined due to injury.

Despite being robbed of the media spotlight, professional poker player Juan Pardo has nothing to complain about. He edged out Piqué for the top spot and brought home a whopping €491,600.

What's even more amazing is that Pardo pulled off an even bigger victory the next day. After his aforementioned victory on Monday, he also managed to top Tuesday's €50,000 Single Day High Roller for €1,013,860, the largest paycheque of his career to date.

Juan Pardo's string of victories almost makes it impossible to choose which shoes one would wish to be in. Would you rather be a successful poker player, or a part of one of the biggest football clubs in the world? Either way, money was raining all over Barcelona these past few days and the rest of us could only wish we also had our buckets out.

Gerard Pique
Gerard Pique Getty