Best-Paid Soccer Players in the World Right Now!!!
Soccer, a team sport played with a spherical ball between two teams of 11 players.
It is played in more than 200 countries by approximately 250 million players.
There is a huge fan following of soccer, and it is the most played and viewed game in the world.
To put that into perspective, FIFA estimated that the 2018 World Cup final between Croatia and France reached an average live audience of 517 million viewers with 1.1 billion tunings in over its 90 minutes.
However, when you think of soccer players, who comes to your mind?
Lionel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo maybe Neymar.
And how much do you think they are paid?
Since soccer is one of the highest-paying sports in the world, you will be surprised by the salary of these players.
So without wasting any more of your time, let’s just get right into it.
Quick Overview
| Name of Player | Salary |
| 13. Eden Hazard | $20 million |
| 12. Kevin De Bryne | $24.5 million |
| 11. Devid De Gea | $27 million |
| 10. Oscar | $27.5 million |
| 9. Robert Lewandowski | $28 million |
| 8. Gareth Bale | $29 million |
| 7. Antoine Griezmann | $33 million |
| 6. Paul Pogba | $34 million |
| 5. Mohamed Salah | $37 million |
| 4. Kylian Mbappe | $42 million |
| 3. Neymar Jr. | $95 million |
| 2. Cristiano Ronaldo | $120 million |
| 1. Lionel Messi | $130 million |
Best Paid Soccer Players in the World
All the information in this article has been collected from trusted websites like Forbes, Wealthy Gorilla, and Celebrity Net worth.
13. Eden Hazard
Born on 7th January 1991 in La Louvière, Belgium Eden Hazard grew up in Braine-le-Comte.
Eden Hazard is one of the best players of this generation who play as an attacking midfielder for the Spanish club Real Madrid and also is a Captain of the Belgium national football team.
Similarly, before Real Madrid, he was signed to Chelsea F.C in 2012. He won 2 UEFA Europa League, 2 Premier League, and one FA Cup while in Chelsea.
Nonetheless, after playing five and half years with Chelsea F.C, he was signed to Real Madrid for $175 million in 2019.
Moreover, Eden Hazard earns an annual salary of $20 million.
12. Kevin De Bryne
Born on 28th June 1991, Kevin De Bruyne sits on the 12th number of our list of best-paid soccer players in the world.
One of the best players in the world, Kevin De Bruyne, has often been described as a “complete footballer.”
De Bruyne is a well-known player who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City F.C and the national football team of Belgium.
Kevin signed to Wolfsburg in 2014 for $24 million, where he established himself as one of the best players in Bundesliga.
However, he joined Manchester City F.C in the summer of 2015 for $73 million.
Since his time with Manchester City, he has won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, and five League Cups.
In the 2019-20 Premier League season, he was awarded Player of the Season after he tied the record for most assists in a season.
Therefore, one of the best players in the world receives a hefty paycheck of about $24.5 million each year.
11. David de Gea
David de Gea, originally David de Gea Quintana, was born on 7th November 1990 in Madrid, Spain.
He is a Spanish professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Manchester United F.C and the national football team of Spain.
Similarly, he is one of the highest-paid goalkeepers in the world.
He began his playing career with Atletico Madrid, where he helped the team to win the UEFA Europa League and Super Cup in 2010.
Likewise, his best performance ultimately attracted the attention of Manchester United F.C and joined for $25.81 million.
Since his time with Manchester United, he has won a Premier League title, a League Cup, three Community Shields, the UEFA Europa League, and FA Cup.
One of the highest-paid goalkeepers in the world, David de Gea, has an annual salary of $27 million.
10. Oscar
Oscar, originally Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Júnior, is a Brazilian professional football player who was born on 9th September 1991 in Americana, Brazil.
He plays as an attacking midfielder for the Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port.
Similarly, he started his career signing to Chelsea F.C for $11.68 million.
However, after playing four and a half years for Chelsea, he again signed for the Chinese Super League for $91.52 million in 2017. It was also an Asian transfer record at the time.
Oscar is compared to one of the best players of all-time Kaka for a similar paying style.
Oscar earns about $27.5 million annually from salary alone.
9. Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski is considered one of the best strikers of all time in soccer who plays as a striker for Bayern Munich club of Bundesliga. He is also the captain of Poland national team.
He is well known for his technique and best performance in the game.
Robert is also considered one of the most successful players in Bundesliga history. He has scored over 500 goals for club and country.
Likewise, his five goals in nine minutes is one of the unbreakable records in the entire football history.
Lewandowski scored the quickest Bundesliga hat-trick just in four minutes and two more goals within nine minutes of the same game on the first half for Bayern Munich.
Robert Lewandowski earns about $28 million each year as a salary.
8. Gareth Bale ($29 million)
Gareth Bale, originally Gareth Frank Bale, was born on 16th July 1989 in Cardiff, United Kingdom.
He plays as a winger for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Wales national team.
Similarly, he started his professional football career at Southampton, after which he moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007 for $9.5 million.
After Tottenham Hotspur, he transferred to Real Madrid for $118.17 million, which was the world transfer fee record at the time.
Nonetheless, Real Madrid paused Gareth Bale and sent him back to the Tottenham Hotspur for the 2020/21 season.
Gareth Bale earns about $29 million annually.
7. Antoine Griezmann
Griezmann was born on 16th July 1989 in the commune of Mâcon, France.
Griezmann is one of the best soccer players who plays as a forward for La Liga club Barcelona.
He also plays for France national team.
He was signed to Atletico Madrid in 2014 for $35.15 million, where he won La Liga Best Player, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Spur cup.
Also, he was nominated for Ballon d’Or and FIFA Men’s Player in 2016 and 2018.
After that, he was transferred to Barcelona for $140.62 million.
However, he is a versatile player and can play in any position, including midfielder, supportive defense, or forward.
Antoine Griezmann is one of the best-paid soccer players with an annual salary of $33 million.
6. Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba, originally Paul Labile Pogba, was born on 15th March 1993.
He is a talented player who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the France national team.
Pogba began his senior career at Manchester United F.C. However, due to limited appearances, he took a transfer to Juventus on a free transfer in 2012.
However, his best performance attracted Manchester United and was transferred for $123 million in 2016.
He plays as a central midfielder, attacking midfielder, and defensive midfielder and is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world.
Likewise, Pogba is a kind-hearted man and has donated his money to various parts of Africa for clean drinking water.
One of the best midfielders in the world earns about $34 million each year.
5. Mohamed Salah ($37 million)
Mohamed Salah, originally Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly, was born on 15th June 1992 in Egypt.
He currently plays as a forward for Premier League club Liverpool F.C and captains the Egypt national team.
Salah is considered one of the best players in the world who is particularly known for his dribbling, speed, and finishing.
He was signed to Premier League club Chelsea in 2014 for $15 million. Later he played for Roma and finally signed to Liverpool F.C in 2017 for $50.36 million.
Therefore, Salah holds the fifth position on our list of a best-paid soccer player in the world with an annual salary of $37 million.
4. Kylian Mbappe ($42 million)
Kylian Mbappe originally Kylian Mbappe Lottin was born on 20th December 1998 in Paris, France.
He currently plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team.
The young player caught everyone’s eyes with his best performance in FIFA World Cup 2018.
He initially was signed to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 on loan, but the transfer became permanent in 2018, worth $211 million.
That made him one of the highest-paid teenagers and second expensive soccer players in the world.
Likewise, he is currently one of the best strikers in soccer. As a result, he holds the 4th position on our list of a best-paid soccer player in the world, with an annual salary of $42 million.
3. Neymar Jr. ($95 million)
Neymar Jr. was born Neymar da Silva Santon Júnior on 5th February 1992.
He is one of the most bankable players who plays as a forward for the Paris Saint-Germain club and the Brazil national team.
Likewise, he started his career in Barcelona as an attacking trio with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
After his best performance in the club, he was later signed to the Paris Saint-Germain club in 2017 for $260 million.
The transfer made headlines for a long time because it was one of the most expensive transfers in the history of football.
Currently, he earns about $95 million annual salary and is the third best-paid player of all time.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo was born Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro on 5th February 1985 São Pedro parish of Funchal.
He is currently signed as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United.
He is also a captain of the Portugal national team.
CR7 has won 32 trophies in his career, including UEFA Champion League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Nation League. He also has won five Ballon d’Or and four European Golden Shoes.
He is listed on Forbes list of Highest-Paid Athletes in the World several times. Ronaldo is also one of the richest players globally, with a net worth of about $500 million.
Fun Fact: Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed person on Instagram with 346 million total followers.
He earns about $120 million each year from football, let alone his income businesses and endorsements.
1. Lionel Messi ($130 million)
Lionel Messi, originally Lionel Andrés Messi, was born on 24th June 1987.
Messi is one of the greatest players of all time who is currently signed to the Paris Saint-Germain club.
He also captains the Argentina national team.
However, he spent almost his entire career in Barcelona with a club record of 35 trophies, including the La Liga Title, UEFA Champion League, and Copa del Rey.
Unfortunately, Barcelona was unable to pay Messi due to the financial crisis, and he was forced to leave the club.
In 2019 he won his sixth Ballon d’Or.
Fun Fact: Lionel Messi has over 267 million followers on Instagram.
Lionel Messi earns about $130 million each year, making him the best-paid player in the world.
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