L’Equipe rounded up the highest-paid players in the Premier League, Ligue 1 and La Liga
© Ash Donelon / Manchester United via Getty Images
Neymar is better paid than Paris Saint-Germain teammate and reigning Ballon d’Or holder Lionel Messi plus the Argentine’s generational rival Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United, according to a football money list put together by L’Equipe.
The French sports magazine reports that the Brazilian, who is the world’s most expensive player after joining from FC Barcelona in a world record €222 million ($245 million) transfer in 2017, earns €4.083 million ($4.5 million) per month at the Parcs des Princes after renewing his contract until 2025 last year.
Messi reportedly takes home €3.375 million ($3.725 million) per month since leaving Barca as a free agent last summer and joining the Qatar-backed Ligue 1 giants on the eve of the 2021/2022 season.
Switching from Monaco to PSG in the same summer that Neymar arrived, Kylian Mbappe is the lowest paid of the team’s attacking trio on €2.22 million ($2.445 million) a month, with 18 PSG players making up the top 20 best-paid players in Ligue 1, gatecrashed by Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder (€650,000 / $717,000) and Cesc Fabregas (€600,000 / $662,000), who were 15th and 18th.
Yet every spot in the top 10 of the French league went to PSG stars, where Neymar, Messi and Mbappe were joined by Marquinhos, Marco Verratti, Achraf Hakimi, Keylor Navas, Angel Di Maria and Gini Wijnaldum.
Following PSG’s embarrassing last 16 comeback loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League, the trident which has failed to deliver as a collective could soon be broken up and the list therefore altered next time it is published.
18 of the highest paid players in Ligue 1 are at PSG: pic.twitter.com/HP5bNMcKDH
— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) March 22, 2022
Reports circled that PSG will look to sell Neymar following the exit and hope to get at least $110 million for the underperforming forward, with Neymar and Messi both booed by home fans when they took on Bordeaux in their next match. A new club is both unlikely to come from Ligue 1 or be able to match his current wages, which means Neymar would lose his standing in both French and world football with his pay at PSG also scheduled to be reduced each passing year.
While Messi will allegedly honor his two-year contract, he could become Ligue 1’s highest-paid player if Kylian Mbappe heads to Real Madrid when his current deal expires on June 30.
Los Blancos could make the French World Cup winner the world’s highest-paid player, though, which he would definitely be if staying put and accepting PSG’s proposal rumored to near £1 million ($1.3 million) a week.
Neymar’s pay eclipses that of Messi, Mbappe and also Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo reportedly earns more than Mbappe on €2.63 million ($2.9 million) a week, however, which makes him the highest-paid player in the Premier League.
After Kevin De Bruyne, who earns €2.06 million ($2.27 million) a month at Mancunian rivals Manchester City, United players finish the rest of the top 5 formed by goalkeeper David De Gea (€1.93 million / $2.13 million), winger Jadon Sancho (€1.85m million / $2.04 million) and defender Raphael Varane (€1.62 million / $1.78 million).
Like PSG’s leading men, Ronaldo’s future at Old Trafford is also uncertain and could depend on Champions League qualification. United currently languish in sixth two spots out of the reckoning and four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal who have a game in hand on them.
Simultaneously, United were knocked out of the competition by Atletico Madrid last week with the mastermind of the 1-0 away win, Diego Simeone, the world’s highest-paid coach.
The figure pelted by drinks and other missiles by United fans following the 2-1 aggregate triumph earns €3.33 million ($3.67 million) a month with Pep Guardiola at City paid €1.89 million ($2.1 million) in second place.
Top 5 highest paid PL players this season.Source: @lequipepic.twitter.com/vW2o41X69C
— BRGoals (@BRGoals) March 22, 2022
💰 Simeone is the manager who earns the most in La Liga, followed by Ancelotti. @lequipe (These numbers are the monthly wage) pic.twitter.com/zYDtcfHuFq
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) March 22, 2022
Top highest paid La Liga players this season.Source: @lequipepic.twitter.com/lPe7sJ2Q5J
— BRGoals (@BRGoals) March 22, 2022
Rounding off the top four of managers is a Premier League duo of Tottenham Hotspur’s Antonio Conte and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp tied on €1.49 million ($1.64 million).
With childhood friend from the La Masia academy Messi out of the way, Barca center-back Gerard Pique is reportedly La Liga’s highest earner on €2.33 million ($2.56 million) a month ahead of Real Madrid duo Eden Hazard and Gerard Bale who both earn €2.27 million ($2.5 million)
Pique’s captain Sergio Busquets comes in fourth on €1.91 million ($2.1 million) while David Alaba and Antoine Griezmann at Real and Atletico Madrid respectively are tied on €1.88 million ($2.07 million).
