The 15 highest-paid players in world football: Ronaldo, Messi, Mbappe…
The 2026 summer transfer window in Europe has now shut – but who are the best-paid players in world football?
Two players entered our top 15 in the final weeks of the window; Rodri and Ollie Watkins.
Barcelona are paying Rodri £444,782 per week, while Watkins’ move from Aston Villa to Al-Hilal comes with a £410,618 weekly wage – the same as Harry Kane.
Lionel Messi appears at 13th on £360,876 at Inter Miami. In the Premier League, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland makes more than anybody else, as he earns a base wage of £525,000 per week.
Kane just makes the top 10, as he’s currently earning around £410,000 per week with Bayern Munich.
When it comes to Real Madrid, only Mbappe (£512,922) and Vinicius Junior earn enough to gain entry here.
In Ligue 1, Ousmane Dembele is the highest earner on £298,000 per week and in Serie A, it’s Lautaro Martinez, who’s taking home a weekly wage of £273,000 at Inter Milan.
Other than in Europe, the remaining highest-paid superstars are all playing in Saudi Arabia.
Cristiano Ronaldo still ranks as the highest-paid player in the Saudi Pro League and world football, earning a whopping £3.4million per week with Al-Nassr.
Other players earning more than £400,000 per week in Saudi Arabia include Sadio Mane, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ivan Toney, Ruben Nuves and Watkins.
As per Capology, here are the 15 highest-earning players in world football.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – £3,421,039 per week
2. Sadio Mane – £656,629 per week
3. Kalidou Koulibaly – £569,626 per week
4. Erling Haaland – £525,000 per week
=5. Vinicius Junior – £513,273 per week
=5. Kylian Mbappe – £513,273 per week
7. Rodri – £444,782 per week
=8. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – £418,765 per week
=8. Ivan Toney – £418,765 per week
=10. Harry Kane – £410,393 per week
=10. Ollie Watkins – £410,393 per week
12. Jamal Musiala – £374,976 per week
13. Lionel Messi – £356,302 per week
14. Virgil van Dijk – £350,000 per week
15. Ruben Neves – £343,605 per week
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