Highest paid football players in the world: Mbappe, Haaland, De Bruyne and Ronaldo's mega salaries ranked
French sports outlet L'Equipe runs the rule on those with the deepest pockets at the elite level of the beautiful game
Erling Haaland's new £500,000-a-week contract is an all-time Premier League record - but it doesn't crack the world's top five, according to a new survey.
French sports daily L’Equipe has broken down the salaries of Europe's elite and Record Sport has had a look at who has come out on top - and who outside the continent dwarves them.
We all know footballers make a pretty penny with Saudi Arabian clubs turning it up to eleven in a bid to host the 2030 World Cup and make the state a global football powerhouse.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar have been tempted by the Saudi Pro League's mountains of cash.
Despite their best efforts and Lionel Messi's blockbuster switch to Inter Miami, Europe's top divisions remain leading attractions for the world's best players and there is still plenty of ducats kicking about.
So don't worry, you don't have to do the hard work as Record Sport has laid out L'Equipe's revealing numbers behind the game's deepest pockets. All figures mentioned are before tax and do not include bonuses, extra fees and players' various sponsorship deals.
Who is the highest earner in the Premier League?
Haaland's estimated £2.1m per month contract has seen the Norway forward overtake Manchester City teammate Kevin De Bruyne to become the best paid player in the Premier League.
It beats Cristiano Ronaldo's stunning £480,000-a-week wages during his return to Manchester United in 2021.
De Bruyne had been the Premier League’s top earner for the last two seasons but L’Equipe estimates his gross monthly salary of £1.7m is now behind Haaland.
Manchester United splashed £65m on Casemiro in August 2022 and he is third in the survey on £1.5m a month - the same as Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.
Marcus Rashford, on-loan at Aston Villa from Old Trafford, and Raheem Sterling, on loan at Arsenal from Chelsea, each earn £1.4m a month.
Pep Guardiola is the highest-earning manager after signing a two-year contract extension in November. He now earns £1.65m a month.
Mikel Arteta sits second on £1.24m a month followed by a shock third place entrant in Everton’s David Moyes on £1.03m per month.
Who is the highest earner in Spain's La Liga?
Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone remains the best paid coach in the world on a monthly gross salary of £1.8m, beating the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Hansi Flick.
Kylian Mbappe replaced his Madrid team-mate Vinicius Jr as the highest paid player in La Liga when the Frenchman signed a five-year contract last summer.
The 26-year-old received a €100m (£83.64m) signing on fee and a gross salary of €32m (£26.76m) - equating to £2.23m per month.
Who is the highest earner in Ligue 1?
L’Equipe claims the France captain’s decision to leave PSG in 2024 was not financial. He reportedly gave up earning more with a proposed contract extension with the French champions worth a potential £209m, including bonuses or he could have banked £250m signing for Saudi club Al-Hilal.
PSG’s Ousmane Dembele is now the highest paid player in Ligue 1 on £1.24m a month. His teammates follow close with Marquinhos (£936,000) and Lucas Hernandez (£920,000) second and third respectively.
Who is the highest earner in the Bundesliga?
Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane is the top earner in the Bundesliga on £1.75m a month. His manager, Vincent Kompany, is the best remunerated coach on £627,000 a month - afar cry from his time a relegated Burnely.
Meanwhile Bayer Leverkusen’s Xavi Alonso is next on the list with £355,000 per month.
So, who is the highest earning footballer in the world?
L'Equipe's survey covered only Europe, leaving out the biggest hitters further afield. Legends of the sport are on this salary list, accrued through multiple sources such as Goal and Forbes, which leads with suspect number one:
- 1 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr): £14 million per month
- 2 - Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad): £6.5 million per month
- 3 - Riyad Mahrez (Al Ahli): £3.75 million per month
- 4 - Sadio Mane (Al-Nassr): £2.9 million per month
- 5 - Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid): £2.23 million per month.
Lionel Messi is miraculously not on the top five list on salary alone! The Inter Miami earns £1.3 million per month but deals with partners including Adidas and Apple TV, take his earnings to around £58m per season. Not too shabby!
Neymar was second on the list before he took a massive pay cut when switching Al-Hilal for boyhood club Santos in January.