Haaland earns nearly £900k but he's STILL not the highest-paid player
Erling Haaland pockets nearly £900k-a-week and he’s STILL not the highest-paid player in the world! PSG stars Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi top the list for football’s top earners with eye-watering deals… and Andres Iniesta is making a fortune in Japan
- Erling Haaland earns more than £850,000-a-week due to bonuses in his contract
- However, the Norwegian is still not the highest paid football player in the world
- He is one of only two Premier League players to make the list of the top 10
- PSG duo Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe top the list with eye-watering deals
Erling Haaland has taken the Premier League by storm.
The Norwegian has netted 14 times in just eight games, but he further made the headlines on Wednesday after a Sportsmail exclusive report revealed he earns a mammoth £865,000-a-week at Manchester City.
With his blistering start to life in England, it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t earned every penny of the total, which sees his £375,000-a-week base contract supplemented by several, almost guaranteed bonuses, making him the country’s highest-paid player by a long way.
But football – and indeed the Premier League – is no stranger to eye-watering figures, with several of the game’s leading clubs backed by the money of some of the world’s richest nations, who need not think twice when sanctioning bank-breaking contracts.
Here, Sportsmail takes a look at the ten highest-earning football players on the planet, using data from several sites and databases, including capology.com, the world’s largest football salaries database, and Forbes’ highest paid players of 2022 list.
Erling Haaland took the headlines after Sportsmail revealed he earned £865,000-a-week
If Erling Haaland’s weekly take home pay is surprising, then the fact that Andres Iniesta is anywhere near this list is mind-blowing, especially at the age of 38.
The Spain and Barcelona legend still turns out for the Japanese side, and put pen to paper on a new, two-year deal back in 2021, which means he will continue to bring home around £432,675-a-week until January 2024, according to Forbes’ data.
Since his arrival in the J League, Iniesta has won a Japanese Cup and Super Cup in 2019 and 2020 respectively, as he joined the likes of Thomas Vermaelen, David Villa and Lukas Podolski in proving that he can cut it in Japan.
Andres Iniesta is still earning more than £432,000-a-week with J League outfit Vissel Kobe
=10 Kevin de Bruyne, Manchester City – £432,675
Kevin de Bruyne has been a key figure for Manchester City in their domestic dominance
=8 Eden Hazard, Real Madrid – £467,289
Let’s face it – Eden Hazard isn’t the name we expected to be the leading earner at Real Madrid; so far has he fallen from the form that made him one of the most in-demand players in world football.
The Belgian forward is quickly becoming the new Gareth Bale at Madrid, having missed so many games through injury and only showing glimpses of what he is truly capable of, but is still making some £467,289, according to Forbes.
Though he may remain on the bench for Carlo Ancelotti more often than not, Hazard still has two years left on his huge deal in the Spanish capital, and he will surely not be averse to seeing out the rest of that contract.
Eden Hazard earns almost half a million pounds a week but is yet to recapture his best form
=8 Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona – £467,289
Robert Lewandowski already has 12 goals for Barcelona since arriving over the summer
6. Mohamed Salah, Liverpool – £605,745
Mohamed Salah has been the most important player at Liverpool in their rise from Europa League to Champions League winners under Jurgen Klopp – and his wages at the club certainly prove that.
Forbes’ data claims that the Egyptian makes more than £605,745-a-week at the Reds, but Sky Sports reported his new deal at the club – signed this summer – only entitled him to around £350,000-per-week base pay.
As a result, the Liverpool talisman likely makes around £250,000 in performance based add-ons each week, if the figures from Sky and Forbes are correct, as the reigning FWA Footballer of the Year and PFA Players’ Player of the Year becomes the highest-paid player in the Anfield club’s history.
Mohamed Salah has become the highest-paid player in Liverpool’s long and illustrious history
5. Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United – £692,026
The third of four Premier League players to make the cut, but surprisingly at only No 5 on the list, is five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo who Capology claim takes home £515,385, but Forbes suggest earns some £692,026-per-week.
The Portuguese forward was thought to be the highest earner in the country before Haaland’s outlandish earnings were released, but he must now settle for second place as he continues to struggle at Old Trafford.
The United forward has been trying to push for a move away form the club, but if he plans on demanding anywhere near his current wages, he will surely narrow the list of prospective destinations considerably.
Cristiano Ronaldo was thought to be the Premier League’s highest earner on £515,000-a-week
4. Erling Haaland, Manchester City – £865,000
Football is so saturated with ridiculous wages that Haaland’s eye-watering salary is only enough to make fourth place on the top 10 list.
Forbes had estimated his weekly take home was on a par with Liverpool’s Salah, but Sportsmail’s exclusive report revealed it was much, much higher, as the Norwegian makes close to £45m-a-year.
The Norwegian superstar, who has set the Premier League on fire since his £51m arrival from Borussia Dortmund, is picking up the staggering sum which makes him by far the highest-paid player in the country.
It is understood that the 22-year-old gets a basic salary which is in line with the other higher earners (around £375,000-a-week) at the Etihad Stadium but bonuses take his weekly earnings beyond the £850,000 mark.
Haaland’s base wage sees him earn £375,000-a-week in line with many of City’s other stars
Neymar Jnr (R) set the record for the highest transfer fee in 2017, going for £200million
3. Neymar, PSG – £951,537
Whenever there is a story about record-breaking money, Neymar is usually not far from the action, and the Brazilian isn’t far off Forbes’ top spot, with his £951,537 taking him just short of £1million-a-week.
Having arrived at PSG for some £200m back in 2017, Neymar has been unable to deliver the French side that elusive Champions League title they brought him into bring them, but he has been earning every penny of his salary this season with several impressive performances.
As one prong of a devastating offensive trident alongside at PSG, the Brazilian forward has amassed a startling 11 goals and nine assists in 13 games in all competitions, proving that money can buy you success.
2. Lionel Messi, PSG – £1,125,031
It says a lot for the financial power of PSG that Messi is only second on the list and earning over £1m-a-week, but in the Argentine legend’s defence, he is a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and probably the best player of all time, and there aren’t exactly guidelines for how such a player should be financially satisfied.
Forbes puts his current weekly on-pitch earnings at a spectacular £1,125,031-per-week as he plays a starring role for the French titans.
Messi had a poor first season by his own standards, which left many questioning whether he would be able to cut it outside of Spain, but he has channelled all that frustration into his performances this term to silence his doubters and prove he is worth every penny of what PSG are willing to pay him.
Alongside Neymar, who he has followed from Barca, Messi has eight goals and eight assists to his name in 13 games, as he comes into the Qatar World Cup – which he has already declared will be his last – in red hot form.
Lionel Messi left Barca due to his wage demands and now earns over £1m-per-week at PSG
Kylian Mbappe tops the list as the highest paid player on the planet
1. Kylian Mbappe, PSG – £1,903,772
And last but by no means least is Kylian Mbappe, who usurped his team-mate after signing a shocking new deal over summer that Forbes estimates gets him just the £1,903,772-per-week, amid heavy speculation that he would be leaving for Real Madrid.
The French star also tops Forbes’ highest paid players list, with the American outlet estimating that Mbappe will make £99,002,750m ($110m) this year through his playing wages.
Capology’s estimate is a somewhat more conservative £1,518,960-per-week
Rumours have even suggested his deal gives him the ability to decide who should become manager or director of football, but there is no denying that PSG have managed to retain the best young player in the world for another three years.
Mbappe and co look set to challenge once again for the Champions League title, but even if they should go on to win the trophy they have their hearts set on, many will question whether it is worth the exorbitant money they are paying their front three alone per week.
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