Highest paid players in the Saudi Pro League: Cristiano Ronaldo miles clear at No. 1
The Saudi Pro League has rewritten the football economy in just a few short years. Big names, bigger salaries, and enough oil money to make a sheikh blush.
The top-paid players are now earning Premier League wages and then some.
Cristiano Ronaldo led the gold rush in 2023, and the floodgates opened soon after. From World Cup winners to Premier League icons, the Saudi top flight is now home to some of the richest footballers on the planet.
We’ve crunched the numbers, sifted through the contracts, and ranked the top-paid players in the Saudi Pro League right now.
10. Aymeric Laporte – €24,500,000
Laporte was once a vital cog in Pep Guardiola’s machine at Manchester City.
Then he lost his place to John Stones, got edged out by Ruben Dias, and eventually faded from the conversation entirely.
His Wikipedia page hasn’t had a meaningful update since August 2023, when he left City for Al-Nassr.
That probably tells you all you need to know about how the Saudi Pro League’s mission to dominate world football is going.
But listen, fair play. Lapote is earning a cool €24.5 million per year. You won’t find many centre-backs on that kind of money.
9. Aleksandar Mitrovic – €25,000,000
Mitrovic has always looked happiest when he’s bullying defenders and racking up goals for fun. In Saudi Arabia, nothing’s changed.
He scored 40 goals in 43 games during his debut season with Al Hilal, a stat line eerily similar to his 2021–22 Championship campaign with Fulham, where he managed 44 goals in 43 games.
The numbers don’t lie: the Saudi Pro League might just be the EFL Championship with palm trees and unbearable humidity.
There have even been reports linking Mitrovic with a move back to the Premier League, with Everton among the clubs said to be interested.
Finances make that deal impossible, but for now, the Serbian striker doesn’t look in any rush to leave Riyadh.
8. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – €25,000,000
For years, Milinkovic-Savic was linked with Europe’s elite. Manchester United were rumoured suitors every summer, while Juventus and PSG reportedly lurked.
Instead, in July 2023, the Lazio star swapped Serie A for Saudi Arabia, joining Al Hilal in a deal worth around €40 million.
He became one of the Pro League’s marquee midfielders and one of its top-paid players.
Still only 30, the Serbia international has shown glimpses of the physical dominance and eye for goal that made him a fan favourite in Rome.
But with fewer eyes watching, of course.
7. N’Golo Kante – €25,000,000
There isn’t a person in football who has a bad word to say about Kante. He’s a two-time Premier League winner, a Champions League champion and a World Cup hero.
More importantly, he sounds like one of the nicest guys the sport has ever seen.
He smiled through every midfield war, did the dirty work with joy, and never once asked for credit.
Raised in a modest suburb to Malian parents, Kante never forgot his roots. He’s helped build schools in Mali, stayed close to his family, and kept his private life exactly that: private.
He deserves every euro he earns at Al Ittihad, and it’s nice to see the Mini Cooper has been replaced by a range of supercars.
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6. Ivan Toney – €25,510,000
Toney is many things: a maverick, a menace to centre-backs, a penalty-box poacher, and, for eight months, a professional spectator.
After lighting up the Championship with Brentford and hitting 20 Premier League goals in 2022–23, Toney looked destined for England’s Euro 2024 squad.
He bounced back with typical swagger, scoring a free kick in his first game back and reclaiming his England place just in time for the Euros.
Toney joined Al Ahli in a €40m deal and is the only current England international in Saudi Arabia.
The 29-year-old bagged 40 goals in 43 games in his first Saudi season, not far off the 43 in 44 he scored for Brentford in the second tier.
5. Kalidou Koulibaly – €34,700,000
Koulibaly’s journey to fortune began with his father’s relentless grind in a Senegalese textile mill. Seven-day weeks, no holidays, all to give his family a better life in France.
That graft set the tone. Koulibaly grew up with a deep sense of humility, often ditching his boots to play barefoot with cousins.
It’s the sort of rags-to-riches story you love to hear, with his glittering career taking him from Napoli to Chelsea to Saudi.
Al Hilal pay him handsomely for his leadership, presence, and defensive steel. Koulibaly might be one of the Pro League’s top-paid players, but you can bet he hasn’t forgotten where it all started.
4. Sadio Mane – €40,000,000
Mane was electric at Liverpool. He scored 120 goals in 269 games, won every major trophy, and terrorised Premier League defences for fun.
Since leaving Anfield in 2022, though, it’s been a different story. One mixed season at Bayern Munich was followed by a switch to Al-Nassr. The goals kept coming — 37 in 97 games so far — but the spark hasn’t always been there.
Mane still shows flashes of his old self, but he often looks like a man in second gear. With €40million a year coming in, who can blame him?
Thankfully, he remains world-class off the pitch. He’s donated millions to his hometown in Senegal, building schools, hospitals and funding monthly wages for families.
He might not be lighting up Saudi Arabia, but he’s still making a serious impact.
3. Karim Benzema – €50,000,000
Benzema arrived in Saudi Arabia with a Ballon d’Or and five Champions Leagues to his name.
In his second season with Al-Ittihad, Benzema scored 21 goals, captained his side to a league and cup double, and ended Al-Hilal’s dominance in the process.
Despite being 37 years of age, the man still has it.
Benzema’s numbers across his career are staggering: 979 games, 513 goals, and over 200 assists. Very few players in history come close.
€50million a year honestly feels like a bargain.
2. Riyad Mahrez – €52,200,000
One of the few players to win the Premier League with two different clubs, Mahrez’s honours list is as long as a pre-season flight to Jeddah.
Leicester legend. Manchester City treble-winner. African champion. Champions League medal. What more could he need? Apparently, €52million a year.
Since moving to Al-Ahli in 2023, Mahrez has added the AFC Champions League Elite title to his stacked CV.
He’s now not just one of Algeria’s greatest exports, but one of football’s top-paid players.
He’s still pulling strings, still chipping in with goals and assists, and still gliding past defenders like it’s 2016.
Mahrez may have swapped Manchester drizzle for Saudi heat, but he hasn’t stopped winning.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – €200,000,000
Ronaldo isn’t just the highest-paid player in Saudi Arabia. He’s the highest-paid athlete in the world by some distance.
His deal with Al-Nassr is eye-watering: €200million a year, a personal staff of 16, a private jet allowance, and a rumoured 15% stake in the club. All to keep the face of the Saudi Pro League happy and scoring.
Ronaldo bagged 35 two seasons ago and followed that up with 20 to finish as top scorer for the second year running.
The Real Madrid legend now sits on 938 career goals. That 1,000-goal dream is a distinct possibility if he sees out his lucrative contract.
At 40, he’s still breaking records, shifting shirts, and racking up trophies. And as the league’s biggest star by far, he’s worth every Riyal.
Farke has even spoken in more ambitious terms about his prospects with Leeds. “I don’t have to defend myself. I just want to establish this club in the Premier League.”
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