Top 5 highest-earning footballers since Saudi Arabia takeover

The Saudi football takeover has surprised the entire football world. European football stars joining the Saudi Pro League and the Saudi clubs have caused a disarray in the salaries of top footballers. This global shift in Middle Eastern football started with Cristiano Ronaldo moving to Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. The huge money and bonuses these players are getting are astonishing.

The huge amount of transfer fees always make it difficult for European clubs to pay out salaries similar to the players in the NFL, baseball and the NBA. However, Saudi entering the sport has presented various footballers with a massive generational wealth. Earlier, mid-level talents would have struggled to make $10 million in the sport.

The entire sport has changed after Ronaldo moved to Middle-Eastern nation. At one point, there was an offer on the table for his rival, Lionel Messi, to join a Saudi Pro League club. It didn’t happen, but an influx of big names have followed Ronaldo to Asia.

To make a clarification, the article will only focus on top salaries, and will take into account other external revenue sources for the footballers. As such, top stars Messi, Neymar (since he joined Santos), and other notable footballers might not make the list. Find out the five highest-earning footballers in the present time.

5. Kalidou Koulibaly

Kalidou Koulibaly made his name at SSC Napoli in Italy before joining Chelsea FC in a massive move. However, his tenure at Chelsea didn’t last long, joining Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro-League. The Senegalese footballer reportedly earns around €667,308 ($719,658) a week. To put it in comparison, Koulibaly earns more money than what Kylian Mbappe earns at Real Madrid (around €500,000).

Annually, the African footballer earns around €34,700,000 ($37,443,902) at Al-Hilal. The amount does not include any other clauses in his contract. With the gigantic amount of salary, Koulibaly has edged out Mbappe and Erling Halaand (€525,000) to secure a top five spot for himself.

4. Sadio Mane

Another Senegalese player joins Koulibaly on the list. Sadio Mane won everything he could during his tenure with Liverpool FC in the English Premier League. Now, at Al-Nassr, the forward earns around €769,000 ($829,531) per week. The forward is well known for his charity work as well.

Annually, the amount comes around €40,000,000 ($43.1 million). This is vastly higher than what he earned during his time in Liverpool. In comparison, Lionel Messi has a base salary of $12 million in the MLS, and takes home around $20 million in just football salary (no other revenue sources included).

3. Riyad Mahrez

Riyad Mahrez was part of the Leicester City FC squad that miraculously won the EPL in the 2015/16 season. He followed that up with years of success with Manchester City as well. Due to his success in the England, the Algerian forward received a massive contract to play in the Saudi Pro League.

Mahrez now earns around €1 million ($1.16 million) per week. This is around double of what Mbappe and Haaland currently earns in Europe. The Algerian forward takes home an annual salary of around €52,000,000 ($56 million) as part of the Al-Ahli squad.

2. Karim Benzema

One-time Ballon d’Or winner, Karim Benzema, moved to Saudi Arabia after having a spectacular stint at the iconic Spanish league Giants, Real Madrid. The French superstar had signed a three-year deal with Al Ittihad for a staggering €1,923,000 per week contract.

The contract sees him making a massive annual salary per year. The UEFA Nations League winner €100,000,000 ($106 million) a year, making him second highest paid salary in football as well as the top-earning French footballer in the world.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

At the top of the list with a staggering estimated earning of €200,000,000 ($215 million) is Cristiano Ronaldo. The 38-year-old Portuguese maestro joined Al Nassr in January 2023 followed by an underwhelming and controversial tenure at Manchester United.

Al Nassr forward earns around €3,86,000 ($4.16 million) per week. With this massive salary, the Portuguese footballer has topped the list of the highest paid sports athletes in the world multiple times. It doesn’t seem like Ronaldo will fall in the list until his retirement.