Erling Haaland is the best-paid footballer in Europe's top five leagues, on an estimated £525,000 a week, and the order behind him is tight. Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé, both of Real Madrid, are within about £12,000 a week of him, and Rodri, new at Barcelona since August, comes next. Taken together, the ten highest earners in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 are on a little over £4.1 million a week, roughly £216 million over a year. Six of the ten play in La Liga, two each in England and Germany, and none in Italy or France. Here is the full top 10, with what each player earns and how his season is going.
The top 10 at a glance
| # | Player | Club | League | Weekly wage | Yearly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erling Haaland | Man City | Premier League | £525,000 | £27.3m |
| 2 | Vinícius Júnior | Real Madrid | La Liga | £514,000 | £26.7m |
| 3 | Kylian Mbappé | Real Madrid | La Liga | £513,000 | £26.7m |
| 4 | Rodri | Barcelona | La Liga | £445,000 | £23.1m |
| 5 | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | £411,000 | £21.4m |
| 6 | Jamal Musiala | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | £375,000 | £19.5m |
| 7 | Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool | Premier League | £350,000 | £18.2m |
| 8 | Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | La Liga | £342,000 | £17.8m |
| 9 | Jan Oblak | Atlético Madrid | La Liga | £342,000 | £17.8m |
| 10 | Lamine Yamal | Barcelona | La Liga | £342,000 | £17.8m |
These are estimates of gross fixed pay, before bonuses and image rights, so other lists may differ.
1. Erling Haaland, Manchester City
The Norwegian striker tops the list on an estimated £525,000 a week, about £27.3 million a year, and he is the only Premier League player above £350,000. He joined Man City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 and signed a new contract in January 2025 that runs until 2034. The goals keep arriving: his player page shows nine league goals from eight starts this season. He leads the Real Madrid pair behind him by about £11,000 to £12,000 a week.
2. Vinícius Júnior, Real Madrid
The Brazilian winger has been at Real Madrid since 2018. On the latest Football Whispers figures he is paid an estimated £514,000 a week, about £26.7 million a year, a little ahead of his team-mate Mbappé, though Planet Football's list has the pair level at £513,000. Either way, the two are the best-paid players in La Liga by a distance of nearly £70,000 a week over the next name. His season has started more quietly than his wage suggests: his player page lists one league goal and three assists from 585 minutes.
3. Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid
The France forward joined Real Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain in 2024 and is paid an estimated £513,000 a week, about £26.7 million a year. October has been a busy month for him. He scored twice in the 2-1 Clásico win at Barcelona on 25 October, reaching 100 goals for Real Madrid in his 116th appearance, and the next night he finished second to Harry Kane in the 2026 Ballon d'Or voting. In the league, his player page has 11 goals and two assists from 894 minutes, more goals than anyone else in this top 10 (Haaland has nine, Yamal eight).
4. Rodri, Barcelona
Rodri is the only player in the ten who changed club this summer. The Spain midfielder, the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner, left Man City for Barcelona in August on a deal reported at a €60 million base fee, with a contract that runs to 2030. Football Whispers and Planet Football both put his pay at about £445,000 a week, £23.1 million a year. Barcelona's figures are the least settled in the list: beIN SPORTS prints €31.25 million a year for both Rodri and Yamal, well above the estimates used here. On the pitch, his player page shows one league goal from seven starts.
5. Harry Kane, Bayern Munich
Kane is the Bundesliga's best-paid player, on an estimated £411,000 a week (about €480,000), or £21.4 million a year. His October was the biggest of any name here: on 26 October he became the first Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen in 2001, after 73 goals for club and country in 2025-26. His contract with Bayern Munich is reported to run until June 2027, and Bayern have been reported close to agreeing an extension, so this figure may change. His player page shows four league goals and five assists so far this season.
6. Jamal Musiala, Bayern Munich
The Germany midfielder, who moved from Chelsea's academy to Bayern Munich in 2019, is paid an estimated £375,000 a week, about £19.5 million a year, after signing a contract to 2030 in February 2025. He is one of two Bayern players in the list, and Bayern's grip on the Bundesliga's pay list is close to total, with the top nine earners all at the club on both of the lists we checked. His season has had limited minutes: his player page shows 148 league minutes, with one goal and one assist.
7. Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool
The Liverpool captain is the best-paid defender in the lists we checked, on an estimated £350,000 a week, £18.2 million a year, and at 35 he is the oldest player in the top 10. He joined Liverpool from Southampton in January 2018 and signed a contract in April 2025 that runs to 2027. With Mohamed Salah gone to Trabzonspor on a free transfer in August, he is now the club's best-paid player on Football Whispers' figures. His player page shows eight league starts and four clean sheets.
8. Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid
Bellingham, Oblak and Yamal sit on identical estimates of £342,000 a week, so the order of the last three follows Football Whispers' ranking. The England midfielder joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund in 2023, and this month it was reported that he has agreed a new contract to 2031 with a rise in pay, which makes his estimate the likeliest in the list to be out of date soon. At 23, he has three league goals and three assists from nine starts, according to his player page.
9. Jan Oblak, Atlético Madrid
The Slovenia goalkeeper is the only goalkeeper in the top 10 and has been at Atlético Madrid since arriving from Benfica in 2014. At £342,000 a week, £17.8 million a year, he earns the same as Bellingham and Yamal and a little under Van Dijk. His job is measured in games without a goal conceded, and his player page shows five clean sheets from ten league starts this season.
10. Lamine Yamal, Barcelona
At 19, Yamal is the youngest player in the top 10 by four years. The Spain winger came through Barcelona's academy, wears the club's No. 10 shirt, and signed a contract in 2025 that runs to 2031. He finished third in the 2026 Ballon d'Or behind Kane and Mbappé, and he is paid an estimated £342,000 a week, £17.8 million a year. In the league, his player page has eight goals and six assists from ten starts, the most assists of anyone in this list.
What the top 10 tells us
Three things stand out. La Liga has six of the ten, with Real Madrid supplying three and Barcelona two. The best-paid players in the other two leagues miss the cut: Inter's Lautaro Martínez, Serie A's top earner, is on an estimated £274,000 a week, and Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembélé, Ligue 1's, on £299,000, both below tenth place. And the list is almost all attackers and midfielders, with Van Dijk and Oblak the only defender and goalkeeper. Just outside it, Bayern's Joshua Kimmich is on about £329,000, and four Premier League players, among them Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, are on £300,000. For this season's figures in each league, see our player pages for the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1.
Who is the highest-paid footballer in Europe's top five leagues?
Erling Haaland of Manchester City, on an estimated £525,000 a week. Outside the top five leagues pay can be higher: Football Whispers estimates Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia at about £3.4 million a week. Within Europe, Mohamed Salah's reported €17 million a season at Trabzonspor works out at roughly £280,000 a week, short of this list, though trackers that include add-ons put him higher.
Which league has the highest-paid players?
By the number of players in the top 10, La Liga. By the single best-paid player, the Premier League, through Haaland.
