Top Five Highest Paid Players In Europe
The top five earning players in European football have been revealed – with Lionel Messi astonishingly earning more than double the amount of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The details ofย Messi’s Barcelona contract were controversially leaked in Januaryย and it was revealed to be perhaps the biggest deal in sporting history.
According toย L’Equipe, Messi’s salary breaks down to an incredible weekly wage of ยฃ2.1 million for the 33-year-old Argentine. That works out at an eye-wateringย ยฃ108.2 million per year.
Ronaldo – who’s unsurprisingly second on the list – earns “only” ยฃ900,000 in his weekly wage packet from Juventus, according to L’Equipe. Still an impressive ยฃ46.7 million per year, but less than half of Messi’s salary.
In third place isย Neymar, the most expensive player in history. The 29-year-old Brazilian forward earns ยฃ606,000 per week (ยฃ31.5 million per year) from Paris Saint-Germain.
Joint fourth on the list are two further players from La Liga.ย Luis Suarezย is being paid a reported ยฃ575,000 per week by Atletico Madrid since his move from Barcelona last year, while Barca’sย Antoine Griezmannย earns something similar: just under ยฃ30 million per year.
Messi earning the highest wage in Europe is no surprise, given his importance on and off the pitch to Barcelona.
But it is perhaps a surprise he’s on more than double Ronaldo’s wage, as the Portuguese is often called the most marketable athlete on the planet. This was undoubtedly part of the reason Juve spent so much to sign the No 7.
It’s notable that no Premier League players are involved. Aside from Gareth Bale – whose salary is part paid by Real Madrid – Manchester United’s David de Gea is the division’s best-paid player according to reports. But he’s on nowhere near ยฃ30 million per year.
Kylian Mbappeย will apparently get a salary increase to โฌ30 million per season if he signs a new PSG contract.
But that still only works out as about ยฃ25.7 million per year for the 22-year-old. So not quite enough to crack the incredibly high earners at the top of this list.
