The Top 5 Best Paid Footballers In The World (As Of September 2023)

David Tully

8 months ago

Categories: Galleries, Manchester City News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Brentford, Brighton, Celtic, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Rangers, Sheffield United, Southampton, spurs, West Ham, wolves

In 2022, we wrote a post detailing the highest-earning footballers but the emergence of the Saudi Pro League has transformed the landscape in terms of salaries that players receive.

Only one of the top 5 on our list now plays in Europe, demonstrating the sizeable shift in spending power in world football.

Whether Saudi Arabia will maintain their investment over the long term, we shall have to wait and see but, currently, no other country can compete on wages.

Press the next page as we name the five best-paid players (as of September 2023).

5) Kylian Mbappe (PSG) – £1.2m a week

The Frenchman signed a contract extension in 2022, making him the best-paid player in the world at the time.

There was a lot of speculation that Mbappe could join Real Madrid, and it appears that the player’s representatives used the La Liga giant’s interest to get a better salary.

However, the World Cup winner’s stay at PSG could come to an end next summer, with his current deal set to expire in 2024.

Mbappe has decided against triggering his option to extend his contract for an additional year, and he could leave on a free transfer.

4) N’Golo Kante (Al Ittihad) – £1.6m a week

For most of last season, it looked like the Frenchman would commit his future to Chelsea.

A number of reports suggested that the Blues were close to agreeing a new deal with Kante but the player did not end up putting pen to paper.

Back in June, the 32-year-old signed an eye-watering contract with Al Ittihad and his 7-year spell in London came to a close.

Kante was earning around £290,000 a week at Stamford Bridge but he now takes home a salary 5.5 times that.

3) Neymar (Al Hilal) – £2.6m a week

Paris Saint-Germain have been trying to get the Brazilian off their books for a couple of years before the forward’s departure this summer.

Despite paying a world record €222m for Neymar in 2017, it was felt that the forward never quite managed to reach the levels he showed for Barcelona.

The 31-year-old did reach double figures for goals in each of the 6 seasons he spent in France, but he did pick up a number of injuries, and PSG never managed to win the Champions League during his spell at the club.

When the offer came from Al Hilal, it was a proposal that was readily accepted by both the player and his club.

2) Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad) – £3.3m a week

It was a surprise when the Real Madrid legend opted to up sticks and leave the Bernabeu back in June. He had spent 14 years in Spain, winning an astonishing 5 Champions Leagues.

However, with his contract expiring, Benzema decided to get one last big payday, accepting a colossal £172m a year deal from Al-Ittihad.

At 35 years of age, the striker will be receiving the most he has ever earned in his career by some distance.

Considering what he has achieved in European football over the last decade, you can hardly blame him.

1) Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr) – £3.33m a week

The Portuguese icon’s public falling out with Manchester United led to his departure at the end of last year.

At the time, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had not yet decided to spend heavily on recruiting foreign players for the Pro League.

However, the opportunity to sign Ronaldo was too good to turn down and they offered the 38-year-old a contract which is currently the most lucrative in world football.

The former Real Madrid star earns £173m a season, with £77.9m as a base salary, with the rest made up of commercial and sponsorship deals.