The life of a professional soccer player looks fantastic. They get paid to stay in shape, have access to the best dieticians and trainers in the world, and are internationally adored. And if all of that wasn’t enough, they also get paid obscene amounts of money.
Over the last decade or two, European soccer clubs have become a favorite purchase of billionaire robber barons, Arabian princes, and wealthy businessmen. With their investments come an influx of cash and desire to win. Before you know it, they’re in a bidding war to bring the top available talent to their new project.
As a result, players’ salaries have begun to skyrocket. Paris Saint-Germain raised eyebrows all over the globe with their purchase of Neymar, one of the best young talents in the game. Now he’s making over $30 million annually! Despite the price tag for players raising exponentially, the marketplace for the best athletes is in as high a demand as ever.
When writing this article, I only weighed the annual salary of each player but another factor to keep in mind would be the additional sources of income these players have. Including endorsements and performance rewards, top players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi total over $100 million in total income annually. Though I left out those extra revenue streams I still think you’ll find the following salaries quite astonishing compared to the average Joe.
Without further ado, here are the twenty highest-paid soccer stars on the planet (all monetary values converted to US dollars).
Cristiano Ronaldo is considered one of the top two players in the world. Depending on which qualities you prioritize, Ronaldo and Lionel Messi occupy the first- and second-place spots on everyone’s list. The superstar Portuguese forward has played for Real Madrid since 2009, when he came over from Manchester United.
If anybody is worth their exorbitant salary, it’s Ronaldo. As a professional player, he’s won twenty-five trophies, including four UEFA Champions League titles. Individually, he’s won the Ballon d’Or on five separate occasions. The prolific goal scorer is not only in the argument for best player alive; he could possibly be the best player of all time.
Lionel Messi is a 30-year-old Argentinian forward that wears number 10 for FC Barcelona. Similarly to Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi is often argued to be both the best in the world and the best of all time. He has spent his entire career with the same club, during which time he’s won thirty trophies, including four UEFA Champions League titles and eight La Liga titles.
Messi has set numerous records for goal scoring during his time as a professional. He holds the record for most goals scored in La Liga (383), most scored in a calendar year (91), most scored in a single La Liga season (50), and most goals in a European club football season (73). With that many records on his resume, he is clearly worth his massive paycheck.
Neymar is a Brazilian forward that was recently sold from Barcelona to PSG at his own request. The young phenomenon has developed into one of the best three players in the world and decided to go lead his own team rather than share the spotlight with Messi and Luis Suarez in Barcelona. His purchase cost his new club $273.5 million, a price tag their oil-rich owner gladly paid.
The world’s most expensive player is known for his creativity on the ball and ability to finish. Neymar has been playing professional soccer since he was 17 years old and appears to have many more years ahead of him than behind him. In addition to PSG, he also plays for the Brazilian international team, for whom he’s scored 53 goals in 83 appearances.
Oscar is a Brazilian international and attacking midfielder that currently plays for Shanghai SIPG. Hoping to become a major player in the world of professional soccer, the Chinese Super League team has recently been spending large sums of cash to attract talent to the Chinese market. Shanghai paid a $73.92-million transfer fee to acquire Oscar’s abilities, a price tag that broke the Asian transfer record.
Since joining the Chinese Super League, the Brazilian international has not been without his controversies. In a match against Guangzhou, he purposely booted the ball into opposing players twice, which led to a brawl breaking out. He was suspended for eight games and fined for the incident. Judging by his salary, I don’t think he’ll miss the money.
Alexis Sanchez is a twenty-nine-year-old Chilean midfielder that stars for English Premier League powerhouse Manchester United. Before his recent transfer to Man U, Sanchez played for both Barcelona and Arsenal. He’s completed every season in England with double-digit numbers for both goals and assists, with his best season coming in 2016-17 when he scored 30 goals and assisted on 14 more.
The Wonder Child, as he is affectionately called, has also been a standout talent for his home country’s international team. Playing for Chile since 2006, Alexis has since become the team’s all-time leading goal scorer. He’s also tied for the most caps, with 119 appearances for Chile.
Kevin De Bruyne is yet another young soccer star taking home a top-flight surgeon’s yearly salary every week. The Belgian midfielder started at Manchester City in 2015 and has since scored twenty goals in eighty-eight appearances. He has been ranked the fourth-best soccer player in the world and is often described as one of the most complete players in the game.
De Bruyne’s mix of technique on the ball, rangy passing, and long-range shooting abilities make him worth every penny that City spends on his salary. His massive contract was only recently signed in January 2018 and runs through 2023. At the rate he’s earning, by 2023 he should be able just to buy his own team. When he’s not starring for Manchester City, he suits up for Belgium’s international squad, where he has fifty-eight appearances since 2010.
You may be noticing a theme. Hulk is the second one-named Brazilian that Shanghai SPIG has purchased for what amounted to record-breaking numbers at the time they were announced. In 2016, the Brazilian was bought from Zenit Saint Petersburg for $72.19 million. He can play as a forward or winger and is a talented scorer.
True to his name, Hulk is not physically built like other soccer players. Instead, he’s stocky and muscular. He’s played professional soccer since 2004, yet has never appeared in any of the prominent European leagues. Hulk has spent his career playing for teams in Brazil, Japan, Russia, and now China. Avoiding the superior European competition clearly hasn’t negatively impacted his paycheck, so he must be doing something right.
Gareth Bale is a Welsh midfielder that is currently making a fortune playing for Real Madrid. Before moving to the Spanish club, he made his name in the English Premier League, where he played for Tottenham Hotspur. Between 2011 and 2013, he was awarded the honors of being named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, the PFA Young Player of the Year, the FWA Footballer of the Year, and the Premier League Player of the Season.
With so many accolades to his name, it’s no surprise then that his transfer fee was $124.18 million, which broke the record at the time it was paid. Gareth Bale is famed for his lightning-fast speed, tremendous crossing, and powerful left foot. He’s a prolific goal-scorer who has notched 62 goals in just 117 appearances for Real Madrid since 2013.
Mesut Ozil is a strange-looking 29-year-old German international playing the attacking midfielder role for Arsenal. His breathtaking salary makes him the highest-paid Arsenal player to date. The contract extension was signed in late January of 2018, more than doubling his weekly pay, which runs until 2021.
Ozil is known as the “assist king” thanks to his creative ability and technical skill. He can play either an advanced playmaking role on the wing or as an attacking midfielder in the center of the pitch. The Arsenal star has had the best ratio of assists per game in English Premier League history since 2016. During his time with Arsenal, he’s won three FA Cups in 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2016-17.
You may remember Luis Suarez from his 2014 FIFA World Cup performance, in which the Uruguayan star actually lunged at and bit an Italian player on the shoulder. Making this even more spectacular, it was Suarez’s third biting incident in his career. That’s right, a mentally ill person that can’t stop biting people as an adult is making the equivalent of $401,737.00 per week.
When he’s not feasting on opponents in international competition, Luis Suarez is a star striker for FC Barcelona. He’s widely renowned as one of the best players in the entire world. He’s won two European Golden Shoes, an Eredivisie Golden Boot, and a Premier League Golden Boot to go along with fourteen team trophies. But despite the talent, acclaim, awards, and money, he occasionally just spazzes out and bites people.
Ezequiel Lavezzi is an Argentinian international player that plays forward and winger for Hebei China Fortune. Before landing in China, he spent the prior ten years playing for Napoli in Italy and Paris Saint-Germain in France. The hard-working and creative player had an impressive four-year run at PSG that saw him make over 150 appearances, win three Ligue 1 championships, two Coupes de la Ligue, and one Coupe de France.
In 2016, Hebei China Fortune purchased the skillful player in yet another case involving Chinese Super League teams spending large sums of cash to bring overseas talent to their home league. He has since scored twenty goals in thirty-seven appearances for his newest club. Lavezzi was also embroiled in a racism scandal after he pulled his eyes back in a photo in a way that was insulting to Chinese soccer fans and online outraged people alike.
What makes Paul Pogba’s salary so extraordinary is that he’s only twenty-four years old. At the rate he’s going, he might earn a billion dollars before he retires. The French international broke world transfer-fee records when he returned to Manchester United from Juventus in 2016, which is fitting for a player considered one of the most promising young talents in the world.
Pogba primarily plays a central midfielder role and is known for his high-energy, creative, and compelling style of play. As of 2013, the young star plays for France’s senior international team, where he’s scored eight goals in forty-nine appearances. Pogba won the “Best Young Player Award” at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Antoine Griezmann is a French international that plays forward for Atletico Madrid in La Liga, Spain’s top-tier soccer league. The twenty-six-year-old superstar scored 52 goals in 201 official appearances over the course of his five-year career at Real Sociedad. His scoring prowess got the attention of larger clubs, and in 2014, Atletico Madrid paid $36.96 million for his transfer.
Griezmann is known for his vision, technique, and quality finishing. He’s an international fan favorite as well, which landed him on the cover of the French version of FIFA 16. His current contract expires in 2020, at which point he can expect to move higher on this list.
Pelle is an Italian striker that is currently playing for Shandong Luneng in the Chinese Super League. The 6’4” athlete is known for his finishing ability with both his head and his feet. His height and strength make him an ideal target man in the box. Despite not having the career honors that many of the other men on this list have achieved, Pelle is the fifth-highest-paid soccer player in the world.
Before finding his way to China, Graziano spent the majority of his career in Italy. He eventually made brief stops in the Dutch and English Premier League, just before his big transfer to Shandong. Pelle is also a member of the Italian international team that didn’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Sergio Aguero is a twenty-nine-year-old Argentinian international that plays for the English Premier League club Manchester City. The incredible striker owns the record for all-time-highest goal-scorer in Manchester City history. He’s also scored a record five goals in a single match in only twenty-three minutes and thirty-four seconds.
Aguero is a player that is worth every penny Manchester City pays him. In 2011, on the last day of his inaugural season with City, he scored a goal in the 94th minute that clinched the club’s first league title in 44 years. Furthermore, Sergio has scored over 100 goals in the EPL, making him the highest-scoring non-European player in league history. They should give him Pelle’s money as well out of general principle.
David Silva is a Spanish midfielder that also plays for Manchester City. Nicknamed “Merlin,” Silva is internationally celebrated as a magical passer. He’s also known for his ability to retain possession of the ball, control the tempo for the team, and score goals as proficiently as he creates them for others. During his eight seasons in Manchester, Merlin has won two Premier League titles, three League Cups, and one FA Cup.
His international career is as impressive as his club. Silva is Spain’s fourth-highest goal-scorer of all time and was a member of the legendary sides that won three straight international tournaments. His team’s won the UEFA Euro 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2012, which is a truly remarkable run of success.
Eden Hazard is a superstar attacking midfielder who has played the majority of his career at Chelsea. He is supremely skilled and has earned acclaim for his speed, creativity, and passing. The Belgian international is undoubtedly one of the top players in the world. Hazard signed with Chelsea in 2012, where he won the UEFA Europa League in his inaugural campaign.
The accolades would continue coming the following season when Eden was named the PFA Young Player of the Year. In 2014-15, the Belgian forward helped lead Chelsea to a Premier League championship and League Cup in the same year, while also collecting the FWA Footballer of the Year and PFA Players’ Player of the Year honors. His most recent trophy came in 2016-17 when Chelsea once again captured the English Premier League title.
Cesc Fabregas is a central midfielder that also plays for Chelsea, like Eden Hazard, and has the exact same salary. With two top-twenty-paid midfielders on the same squad, it’s no wonder why they’ve had so much success in the English Premier League. Before coming to Chelsea in 2014, the thirty-year-old talent played for Arsenal and Barcelona.
Fabregas was also an integral part of the Spanish international teams that dominantly won three consecutive international tournaments. In fact, he assisted the game-winning goal in the World Cup final with a beautiful pass to Andres Iniesta.
Zlatan is a soccer genius and would be the first to tell you so. The arrogant and often-hilarious Swedish superstar is the second-most-decorated soccer player in the entire world, having won thirty-two trophies in his nineteen-year career. He’s won league championships in Italy, France, and Spain and collected an EFL Cup, UEFA Europa League, and FA Community Shield in England with Manchester United.
Ibrahimovic is tall, agile, strong, and technically brilliant. He’s both an accurate striker and ideal “target man” in the box, where he uses his height and impressive vertical jump to win aerial challenges and score with his head. He also frequently speaks in the third person and has been part of numerous physical altercations with his own teammates, making him my favorite player in the world.
As you can see, professional European soccer is quite the lucrative endeavor. Due to the organization of the various leagues, there are no salary caps or limits to how much a player may earn or cost in a transfer. As more and more billionaires purchase clubs as a fun little side hobby, demand for the best players is only going to increase, driving their prices higher.
Several of the men on this list were sold for record-breaking amounts at the time of their acquisitions, showing how quickly and drastically salaries are going up. At the top of the heap is Neymar, the Brazilian dynamo. With a fresh $831,180 coming in every week, he is far and away the highest-paid player in the world.
Furthermore, many of the athletes included on this list are relatively young. Plus, soccer is a game that you can play into your late 30s. The earning potential of these players is almost overwhelming if it weren’t so impressive. At the rate the sport is going, I expect our first billion-dollar transfer to occur before 2030. Hopefully whoever it is wants to share.
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