Real Madrid wages: Top 11 highest-paid players on football’s biggest wage bill

Real Madrid currently have the highest wage bill in world football, pipping Bayern Munich and cash-rich Premier League side Manchester City to the summit.

It’s little surprise that they pay more than all of their competitors, with some of world football’s very biggest names on their books.

Here, we have looked at the top 10 (11) highest earners at Real Madrid.

=9. Eduardo Camavinga – €240,385 / £206,465

Camavinga, 22, is one of the youngest players in Real’s top 10, with only Jude Bellingham (21) earning more than him at a younger age.

The Frenchman has become an important part of Carlo Ancelotti’s side, playing a number of different positions when needed.

His €240,385-per-week contract reflects his importance in a variety of roles to his side.

=9. Aurelien Tchouameni – €240,385 / £206,465

Tchouameni has been at the club for longer than compatriot Camavinga, but while his team-mate had to bide his time to be put on a big contract, the former Monaco man got one straight away.

He was being paid less than €20,000 per week at his former club, so earned a massive rise when Real immediately slapped €240,385 in front of him.

Whether he continues earning that sum, or any sum at Real at all, is up in the air, with TEAMtalk sources recently talking up a swap deal between Tchouameni and Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who’s keen to play for Los Blancos.

=9. Rodrygo – €240,385 / £206,465

Rordygo earns the same as both Camavinga and Tchouameni, having penned a new deal during the 2023/24 season.

He was making around €160,000 per week prior to his extension, which followed a season in which the winger scored 19 goals and assisted another 11.

The season which earned him new terms saw Rodrygo bag 18 goals and eight assists, and his consistency shows he was worthy of it.

=7. Eder Militao – €280,385 / £241,448

Militao’s wage essentially doubled at the time of his last contract extension. In January 2024, he went from being paid €141,192 per week to €280,385.

He has gone from a fringe player to playing almost every La Liga game in both 2021/22 and 2023/24, to deserve such a rise.

Currently, Real are paying him to get physio treatment, as the Brazilian centre-back tore his ACL in November, the second time he’s succumbed to such an injury in his career.

=7. Antonio Rudiger – €280,385 / £241,448

Rudiger left Chelsea on a free transfer to join Real in 2022. That they did not have to pay a transfer fee, there was more money to go towards the German defender’s contract.

He was handed €280,385 per week, which is what he still earns, and will do for another year until his contract is up.

At 32, it’s unclear whether Real will want to continue paying him such a large sum beyond his 2026 expiry, or if they’ll look to a younger player at the heart of their defence.

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6. Thibaut Courtois – €288,462 / £248,657

Courtois is one of the highest-paid goalkeepers in the world, proving his worth at Real Madrid for over six years after leaving Chelsea.

The 32-year-old has been earning the same since 2021 – three years after that move – when he last extended his deal, but still has more than a year left on his contract.

Whether he’ll remain in Real’s net beyond 2026 remains to be seen, with some reports suggesting the Spanish giants have considered other goalkeepers.

5. Federico Valverde – €320,577 / £276,488

Valverde has the equal longest contract in the top five, alongside Camavinga, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe.

The midfielder has been at the club since 2018, and if he sees out his contract, will remain there until at least 2029.

His wage his risen gradually as he has become a more important player for Real. When he joined, he was being paid under €20,000 per week, then €80,000 per week for a couple of years, before moving to €156,000, and now around double that, at €320,577.

Valverde is undoubtedly one of the most important players in the Madrid squad, and it would not be a surprise to see his wage rise even further as he continues to have an impact for them.

=3. Jude Bellingham – €400,577 / £345,085

Bellingham’s journey to becoming one of the highest-paid players at Real Madrid is a very interesting one.

His first ever contract in football, with Birmingham City, saw him paid around €2,000 per week, and he only played one season of senior football there prior to a move to Borussia Dortmund.

There, he earned around €62,000 per week, and even now, the German outfit don’t pay anybody more than €200,000, so he was never likely to make the sort of massive sum he now does at Real.

Now seen as one of the very best talents in world football, Bellingham is earning north of €400,000 per week, and earning every penny, with more than 50 direct goal contributions in less than two complete seasons with Real.

=3. Vinicius Junior – €400,577 / £345,085

The runner-up for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, it’s no surprise that Vinicius Junior is one of the best-paid players in the world.

Madrid brought the Brazilian to Europe when he was 18, spending a considerable €46m to do so, and the former Flamengo winger has since flourished as a first-team star.

Vinicius’ first Madrid salary pocketed him €128,269 per week, before he signed a contract extension in October 2023 to take his weekly wage above €400,000.

That came a few months after he inherited the iconic no.7 shirt at the Bernabeu and he has been living up to its reputation since, with achievements like scoring in the 2024 Champions League final.

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2. David Alaba – €432,692 / £361,840

After running down his contract at Bayern Munich, where he was earning €192,308 per week, Alaba earned himself a lucrative deal with Madrid in 2021.

With 10 Bundesliga titles behind him, the versatile left-footed defender agreed a four-year deal for his first taste of Spanish football.

At the time, there were five players being paid more by Madrid, but Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, Marcelo, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard have all since left the club.

Alaba’s contract is worth more than €430,000 per week, but it is due to expire at the end of next season. His injury history makes for an uncertain future.

1. Kylian Mbappe – €600,962 / £502,556

One of the best-paid players on the planet, Real Madrid’s top earner is, of course, Kylian Mbappe.

It wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret that Mbappe was going to end up at Madrid after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain ended, but it was a monumental move nonetheless.

In their efforts to keep Mbappe for as long as possible, PSG were paying him more than €1m per week, but his heart was set on a switch to Madrid.

Real pay him a lower base salary, but he also receives lucrative bonuses, which, if all active, would put €1,378,269 per week in his pockets.

Only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland earns a higher base salary in European football, but Mbappe’s full package when bonuses are brought in is bigger.

Mbappe has enjoyed a strong individual debut season so far, scoring more than 30 goals.

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