La Liga, like the other top five European leagues, features some of the world's highest-paid players. The 2021 summer transfer window, which was one of the most memorable in recent memory, is finally over, and La Liga players, like players from most other European leagues, are set to stay at their respective clubs at least until January. As a result, we've decided to look into La Liga player wages and see who the top ten highest-paid players are for the 2020/21 season. With the departure of some of La Liga's highest earners in 2020, such as Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos, as well as the return of certain players, such as Gareth Bale, this ranking has changed significantly from last year.
With the pandemic wreaking havoc on football, particularly in La Liga, even Real Madrid and Barcelona are finding it more impossible to maintain up with the absurd salaries they pay their players. It has resulted in a frantic transfer window for Barcelona, which was already facing financial issues before the epidemic, and has led to some of the club's greatest talents departing for free or on a loan in order to pay off their wage demands. With that in mind, let's look at the real figures and discover who the league's top earners are.
No. | Name | Club | Salary per week |
1 | Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | £600,000 |
2 | Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | £594,000 |
3 | Eden Hazard | Real Madrid | £416,000 |
4 | Phillipe Coutinho | Barcelona | £406,000 |
5 | Frenkie De Jong | Barcelona | £354,000 |
6 | Toni Kroos | Real Madrid | £329,000 |
7 | Luka Modric | Real Madrid | £294,000 |
8 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | £294,000 |
9 | Jan Oblak | Atletico Madrid | £271,000 |
10 | Marcelo | Real Madrid | £266,000 |
Gareth Bale is ranked first among the top ten highest-paid players in La Liga. Bale's tenure at Real Madrid has been a mixed bag, but there's no disputing his enormous contribution to the club's success over the last decade. We're talking about a salary of almost £31.2 million per year, which translates to £600,000 per week in pay. Griezmann is the next player, who has returned to Atletico Madrid in one of the most stunning deadline day deals in history. One of these two teams must still pay Griezmann's £345k weekly salaries, and sources show that Atletico Madrid is paying it in full.
Eden Hazard is ranked third on the list. The former Chelsea player arrived at Real Madrid with huge hopes, but he has turned out to be one of the worst transfers in football history. Eden Hazard's 5-year Real Madrid contract and £416k weekly earnings, which amount to about £21.58 million a year, make it exceedingly difficult for him to leave unless he decides to have a successful season and stay fit. Hazard is followed by another big-money transfer that failed to impress – Coutinho. Coutinho earns £406,000 per week in Barcelona. The Brazilian star is now fit after missing almost the whole season.
Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong is fifth on the highest-paid list. The astonishing weekly pay of £354k that Barcelona would provide De Jong, which adds up to roughly £18.4 million a year, was one of the considerations in De Jong's decision to join Barca. Although, according to reports, this figure includes his base pay (said to be approximately £10 million) plus performance bonuses. Regardless, Frenkie de Jong will be one of the highest-paid players in La Liga in 2021. Real Madrid midfield-duo Toni Kroos and Luka Modric follow Frenkie. Kroos earns £329,000 and Luka Modric earns £294,000 per week in Madrid.
Then comes Karim Benzema. The 32-year-old is ranked eighth among the top ten highest-paid players in La Liga, and he just extended his Real Madrid contract for another year. The 33-year-old is Real Madrid's all-time leading assist provider, with 281 goals in 562 games. He is also the club's all-time top scorer, with 281 goals in 562 games. So it's no surprise that he gets a £294k weekly income, which equates to a base salary of £15,288,000 over the course of a year. Jan Oblak's most recent contract extension was signed in 2019, extending his tenure at the club until the summer of 2023 and paying the 28-year-old £271,000 weekly salary, totaling £14,092,000 per year. Marcelo comes after Oblak. Marcelo is given a staggering weekly income of £266,000. Over the course of a year, his base income totals slightly over £13,832,000.
