The 15 highest-paid players in Europe’s top five leagues: Haaland or Mbappe at No. 1?
Stars from Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid are among European football’s 15 most highly-paid players in 2025-26.
Footballer wages are higher than they’ve ever been right now, with more money sloshing around the upper echelons of the sport than is reasonably healthy.
We’ve compiled a list of the 15 best-paid players in the European game. An eye-watering read lies ahead.
15. Raheem Sterling (€376,952 p/w)
Once a key figure for both club and country, Sterling has experienced an enormous fall from grace since swapping Manchester City for Chelsea in 2022.
With a weekly wage of €376,952, his inconsistent showings led him to be shipped out on loan to Arsenal for the 2024-25 season, where he made little to no impact.
Time is running out for Sterling to prove he still has something to offer at the highest level. His next move will almost certainly include a substantial wage cut.
=10. Robert Lewandowski, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr, Jan Oblak, Joshua Kimmich (€400,577 p/w)
Stars from Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all take home €400,000 per week according to industry estimates.
It’s hard to argue that any of them don’t warrant these figures. Lewandowski is still scoring regularly, Oblak is one of Europe’s best goalkeepers and Kimmich is a senior figure at Bayern.
The Madrid pair – Bellingham and Vinicius – are the most interesting. While the former is settled, Vinicus is pushing for a pay rise.
ESPN have reported that Madrid have offered him a small increase on his current terms, but his agents have advised him to see how the 2025-26 campaign under Xabi Alonso progresses.
9. Manuel Neuer (€403,846 p/w)
Bayern’s No.1 is considerably ahead of his compatriot Marc-Andre ter Stegen (€320,577 per week – no wonder he’s desperate to stay at Barca) to be the top-paid goalkeeper in Europe.
Neuer signed his most recent, one-year contract extension earlier in 2025 and he’ll be 40 by the time it runs out in June.
It’s been hinted that he’ll hang up his gloves at that point. We wouldn’t blame him.
=7. Casemiro, Virgil Van Dijk (€405,948 p/w)
Still probably the best centre-back in world football, Van Dijk’s wage packet reflects that.
Only the most one-eyed observer or somebody who’s been in a coma since 2020 would argue Casemiro remains one of the world’s best midfielders.
Just one of the reasons Liverpool and Manchester United are currently poles apart.
6. Dusan Vlahovic (€427,308 p/w)
After showing incredible promise early in his career, Vlahovic hasn’t taken off as many expected him to at Juventus.
Still, he’s being paid very handsomely by the Serie A giants for his services and currently takes home €427,308 a week.
Having refused to sign a new contract, Juve are actively trying to sell the Serbia international, but there have been few takers.
5. David Alaba (€432,692 p/w)
Amazingly, Alaba is the fifth highest-paid player across Europe, according to industry estimates.
Real Madrid picked up the experienced defender back in 2021 and made up for the lack of a transfer fee by paying him a monster salary.
He immediately proved worth the investment, helping deliver yet another Champions League, but slow progress from an ACL injury reduced him to just 17 starts and 600 minutes played last season.
4. Mohamed Salah (€463,940 p/w)
Only three players across European football – all strikers – take home more than Liverpool’s Egyptian King.
Salah let his contract run down last season, only signing an extension deep into April with the title already won.
He will stay at Liverpool until 2027, a full decade since he first arrived at Anfield.
READ: The top 10 goalscorers in Europe of the 2025 calendar year so far: Kane, Salah, Mbappe…
3. Harry Kane (€480,769 p/w)
Widely acknowledged as one of the best strikers in world football, Kane’s wage packet since swapping Tottenham for Bayern Munich reflects that assessment.
The England captain is paid €480,769 per week to score and create for the Bundesliga champions. He opened his 2025-26 account with an opening day hat-trick against RB Leipzig.
2. Kylian Mbappe (€600,962 p/w)
Mbappe reportedly took a pay cut after leaving PSG, but Real Madrid aren’t exactly paying him peanuts.
While Madrid went trophyless last season, the Frenchman scored 44 goals in all competitions and won the European Golden Shoe.
One of Xabi Alonso’s main missions at the Bernabeu will be to harness Mbappe’s goalscoring prowess for the good of the team.
1. Erling Haaland (€608,922 p/w)
Say hello to the highest earner in European football. Manchester City pay the outrageously prolific Norwegian goalscorer an estimated €31million (£27million) a year.
And he’s got that locked in until 2034. Very few players in the history of the game will have banked as much.
READ NEXT: Every club in Europe ranked by their 2025-26 wage bill: Five Premier League clubs in top 10…
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the highest-paid player from every Premier League season?