The highest paid footballers in the world: Ronaldo takes top spot with eye-watering salary revealed

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Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe

Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe are among the highest-paid players in the world

Footballers have seen their wages skyrocket over the last few decades and a lot of clubs are willing to offer eye-watering contracts to big-name players.

While the Premier League and La Liga used to be the biggest spenders in terms of player wages, the Saudi Pro League have flexed their financial muscles in the last two years.

Here, TEAMtalk takes a look at the highest-paid footballers in the world and how those players have performed.

Note: All figures mentioned are before tax and don’t include any sponsorship and endorsement deals.

10. Aymeric Laporte

Weekly wage: £408,235 (€471,154/$546,515)

Yearly wage: £21.2million (€24.5million/$28.4million)

Club: Al Nassr

Contract until: June 30, 2026

One of nine Saudi Pro League players on this list, Laporte joined Al Nassr from Manchester City in 2023 and signed a three-year deal worth £408,235-per-week.

The centre-back admitted he made the move to Saudi Arabia for non-footballing reasons but has since struggled to adapt to his new surroundings.

“Many of us have also come here not only for football,” he said. “Many of us are happy with that, but I am also looking for something beyond that is not the economic part and such.

“In terms of quality of life, I expected something different because in the end here you spend three hours a day in the car. Riyadh is a waste of traffic, of time wasted in the car.”

9. Four players

Weekly wage: £416,566 (€480,769/$557,669)

Yearly wage: £21.6million (€25million/$28.9million)

It’s a four-way tie for ninth spot with Harry Kane, N’Golo Kante, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic all taking home £416,566-per-week.

Kane won his first major trophy with Bayern Munich in 2024/25 and is the sole Bundesliga representative on this list, while the other three all play in Saudi Arabia.

Mitrovic and Milinkovic-Savic helped Al Hilal win the Saudi Pro League title and the King’s Cup in 2023/24 before Kante won the same trophies with Al-Ittihad in 2024/25.

8. Ivan Toney

Weekly wage: £425,064 (€490,577/$569,045)

Yearly wage: £22.1million (€25.5million/$29.5million)

Club: Al Ahli

Contract until: June 30, 2028

Despite being linked with a number of Premier League clubs in the summer of 2024, Toney ultimately completed a £40million move to Al-Ahli.

The 29-year-old got an enormous pay rise, going from just £20,000-per-week at Brentford to £425,064-per-week in Saudi Arabia.

His current contract – which also includes an additional £105,475-per-week in potential bonuses – makes him the highest-paid English player in the world.

The striker netted 30 goals in all competitions in his debut season and helped his side to AFC Champions League glory for the first time in their history.

7. Kylian Mbappe

Weekly wage: £520,708 (€600,962/$697,086)

Yearly wage: £27million (€31.2million/$36.2million)

Club: Real Madrid

Contract until: June 30, 2029

Mbappe joined Real Madrid on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract at Paris Saint-Germain and immediately became the highest-paid player at the Bernabeu.

But he actually took a pay cut to secure his dream move, going from £1.16million-per-week in France to just over £500,000-per-week in Spain.

The France international does have a number of performance-related bonuses in his contract and can earn an additional £655,982-per-week, potentially taking his wages up to £60.4million-per-year.

He didn’t win La Liga or the Champions League in his debut season in 2024/25, but he did score 31 La Liga goals to secure the European Golden Shoe.

6. Erling Haaland

Weekly wage: £525,000 (€622,099/$720,405)

Yearly wage: £27.3million (€32.3million/$37.4million)

Club: Manchester City

Contract until: June 30, 2034

Having scored 90 goals in all competitions across his first two seasons at Manchester City, Haaland was rewarded with a new contract in January 2025.

The Norway international now has a base salary of £525,000-per-week, making him the highest-paid player in Europe’s top five leagues.

His new deal at the Etihad is due to last until the end of the 2033/34 season, making it worth at least £259.3million over its full duration.

Alongside that base salary, the striker can also earn an additional £350,000-per-week/£18.2million-per-year with performance-related bonuses.

5. Kalidou Koulibaly

Weekly wage: £563,152 (€667,308/$772,757)

Yearly wage: £29.2million (€34.7million/$40million)

Club: Al-Hilal

Contract until: June 30, 2026

After enduring a difficult debut season at Chelsea in 2022/23, Koulibaly left Stamford Bridge and signed a three-year contract at Al-Hilal.

The Senegal international won the Saudi Pro League in 2023/24 and is currently the highest-paid defender in the world with a salary of £563,152-per-week.

“I can’t deny it,” he said when asked about the money. “I will be able to help my whole family to live well, from my parents to my cousins, and support the activities of my Capitaine du Coeur association in Senegal.

“We started building a clinic in my parents’ village. I have many projects to help young people. I don’t like being on the bench doing nothing. I prefer to go where I am really wanted.”

4. Sadio Mane

Weekly wage: £649,166 (€769,231/$890,785)

Yearly wage: £33.7million (€40million/$46.2million)

Club: Al Nassr

Contract until: June 30, 2026

Following his move to Al-Hilal, Koulibaly was joined in Saudi Arabia by international teammates Edouard Mendy and Sadio Mane.

Mane – who left Bayern Munich to join Al Nassr – is the highest-paid member of the trio with a contract worth £649,166-per-week.

He used some of his money to buy French fourth-tier outfit Bourges Foot 18 and is also renowned for his charity work in his native Senegal.

On the pitch, the former Liverpool winger has registered 37 goals and 25 assists in 93 appearances for Al Nassr but is yet to lift the Saudi Pro League title.

3. Karim Benzema

Weekly wage: £811,458 (€961,538/$1.11million)

Yearly wage: £42.1million (€50million/$57.7million)

Club: Al-Ittihad

Contract until: June 30, 2026

Benzema brought the curtain down on his 14-year Real Madrid career in the summer of 2023 and joined Al-Ittihad on a free transfer.

He signed a three-year contract and more than doubled his salary, going from £389,500-per-week in Spain to £811,548-per-week in Saudi Arabia.

The striker endured a difficult debut season, which included clashes with managers Nuno Espirito Santo and Marcelo Gallardo.

But he scored 25 goals in all competitions in 2024/25 to help Laurent Blanc’s side win the domestic double, and he also received the Saudi Pro League Player of the Season award.

2. Riyad Mahrez

Weekly wage: £847,162 (€1million/$1.16million)

Yearly wage: £44million (€52.2million/$61.1million)

Club: Al Ahli

Contract until: June 30, 2027

After winning the Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions League in the 2022/23 season, Mahrez left Manchester City and completed a £30million move to Al Ahli.

“I was offered four years in Saudi Arabia, in a Muslim country where I can definitely protect (and provide for) my family,” he said. “There was also a new challenge, and a new project. So, I decided to leave, it wasn’t a big deal.”

His current contract is worth £847,162-per-week and will see him net £176.2million by the time it expires at the end of the 2026/27 season.

The Algeria international registered nine goals and eight assists in their AFC Champions League-winning campaign in 2024/25 – making him one of the few players to win both that competition and its European equivalent.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

Weekly wage: £3.47million (€4million/$4.6million)

Yearly wage: £180.5million (€208.4million/$241.7million)

Club: Al Nassr

Contract until: June 30, 2027

Ronaldo became the first high-profile player to move to the Saudi Pro League, joining Al Nassr on a free transfer in January 2023.

The move helped the Portugal international reclaim his status as the highest-paid player in the world, although he denied that money was the motivating factor behind his decision.

“I came to win, to improve the league,” Ronaldo said. “I want to leave a legacy. That’s what I want. They say I’m finished, that I’m only here for the money… but I still feel the passion. They don’t believe it, but I’m here to win.”

The 40-year-old has won the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot in back-to-back seasons and is now inching closer to his dream of reaching 1,000 senior career goals.

His initial contract with the Riyadh-based outfit expired at the end of the 2024/25 season, but he has now put pen to paper on a new two-year deal worth in the region of £3.47million-per-week.

READ MORE: The 10 most expensive transfers in history: Wirtz to Liverpool 6th, no catching Neymar

Cristiano Ronaldo Kylian Mbappe Erling Haaland

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