Top 50 Football Player Salaries in the World

By: Inara | February 27th, 2008

Today, a Portuguese financial website published the top 50 highest earning footballers in the world. I don’t know whether to be reassured or disappointed that Lyon have only two players on the list. Or the fact that Marseille and PSG each have a player earning more than any OL player.

Looking at the list, it’s not surprising that English and Spanish clubs dominate (keep in mind that these are gross wages and don’t include other premiums, like sponsorships, advertising, awards, etc).

Chelsea (8 players), Real Madrid (6 players), Barcelona (6 players), Manchester United (6 players), Liverpool (3 players), Inter (3 players), Juventus (3 players), Bayern Munich (2 players), Lyon (2 players), AC Milan (1 player), Portsmouth (1 player), Newcastle (1 player), Spurs (1 player), Roma (1 player), Atletico Madrid (1 player), Valencia (1 player), Marseille (1 player), PSG (1 player), LA Galaxy (1 player), Sampdoria (1 player)

Juninho comes in at 43rd place, earning €4.56m per year (€380,000/month). Our other representative, Sidney Govou, is at 46th, earning €4.5m per year (€375,000/month). Compare that with the highest earning player, Kaka, who brings home twice that.

If you’re curious about the numbers from France and want to compare salaries, last year France Football published the wages of 20 highest earning players in Ligue 1. This list was published last season, so some salaries have been adjusted since then.

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masud

Sir,
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contact number +8801712278660
e-mail masud536@yahoo.com

best regards
masud
pride of Lyon

jf- Well I am a huge Lampard fan. He is very efficient on the pitch both at front and back. He isn't selfish and scores regularly. Most of the time his goals are incredible too. I am no Chelsea fan, but I love both Lampard and Terry. I would be glad to have them in Lyon.
Jo

And kaka just extended his contract... So he is now earning more !
jf

frank lampard surprisingly high up, lucky considering he is nowhere near that level in footballing terms. and harry kewell must thank god every night, never has a player earned so much for doing so little surely?
Corey

Anyone else think Darrent bent being so high up the list, much less on the list at all is an absolute shame. Just goes to show how over inflated things are in the EPL....
Storm

Steve - in recent years Arsenal's budget/wage bill has always been significantly lower than Man U or Chelsea. It is striking and its testament to Wenger that he's been able to achieve as much as Sir Alex Ferguson or Mourihnio on a lower budget. Plus he's amazingly astute at selling players just past their peak (but so just past its often imperceptable to outsiders).

Jo - I agree that Govou is having an amazing season and yes loyalty should be rewarded (though loyalty also means not bad mouthing another player to the press); plus he does do a lot of things on the field beyond scoring goals (which don't always happen so much!). But I just don't seem him as worth almost the same value as Juni; more value than Coupet (who's been there for longer)etc. Congralutions for the Lens win - it was a truly amazing match (except perhaps from Pele's perspective).
Steve

The most suprising thing to me about that list is that none of the players on this list are currently playing for the team that is at the top of the Premiership, Arsenal. Not the case for any of the other big european leagues, other than Portugal. Maybe that was why they reported it?
lefutur

but Inara...you didnt tell us which LA Galaxy player is on the list. I'm dying to know!
Pride of Lyon

I think it is normal for Govou to earn as much. If a player is faithful to a club, he deserves to earn a big salary. Lyon wouldn't be the same team without Govou. He is one of the leaders with Juninho and Coupet.
When all 3 will leave, it will be the end of an era!
The truth is that if JMA is ready to pay Govou that much it is that he is worth that much. It also shows that JMA is not all about money, it is also about team spirit.

I haven't seen the game Le Mans - Lens, but apparently it was incredible to see. Lens have a very decent team, ans the 2 ex Lyon players like Belhadj and Remy show why Lyon wanted them.

I hope Lens will be in Europe next year more than PSG, they have been playing attractive football for many years, and their fans are just great!

Inara, I think our wage bill has gone down of 1.5 millions a year, but it needs to be confirmed. Aulas wanted to cut down 10 millions on salary expenditure. He will get there eventually just when Juninho will retire.
Jo

I'm so excited about Lens qualification !!! This match was UNBELIEVABLE !
I said to my friends 5 months ago that Lens (who was 19th ! in Ligue 1) will be European next year. They will, because they'll win Coupe de la ligue.
This team is so great to see. And so is Le Mans. I wrote here I wanted some Le mans players for OL... I still want !! Romaric and Sessegnon could be very good back up to Toulalan and Ederson.

About the topic, I have to disagree with Storm. I think it's totally justified that Govou earn so much money. He's here for so long, and I think some people don't realize how much he is important for our team. Especially this year !
He do an incredible defensive job, and score more goals than he ever did. He is everywhere, and is a real leader with Juninho.
Don't under estimate Govou's role in Lyon's games. He's crucial.
Storm

Its an amazing match - 4:4 and three goals in the space of four minutes. And Remy's goal was set up by Belhadj. Go Lens go! Extra time just starting
Jao

Sorry to go off topic, but Remy is playing very well in the coupe de la ligue right now, playing on the right side (ironically govou's position).
Storm

Govou? Seriously? He's our second highest paid player? I'm sorry but good form or not that really doesn't seem right to me. Though seeing Juni just above Beckham is strangely satisfying(even knowing this is just gross salary)!
Actually from a club perspective I find it quite scarey to see such differences. Is there any way we can keep these lists away from the Bens? Especially Ben Arfa.

Inara do you know what match premium the Lyon players could expect for each individual match they actually play?