Top 20 highest paid players in Europe revealed with Kylian Mbappe only third and shock name top

Everyone has a good idea who the highest-paid footballers in Europe are, but the name who tops the list might surprise you.

Elite level footballers are incredibly well-paid, although not many of them are among the highest paid athletes on the planet.

Those who are don’t play in Europe, but that doesn’t mean the biggest names in the Champions League aren’t earning a pretty penny.

The usual suspects are all in the top 20, but number one might come as a surprise.

Kylian Mbappe was, until very recently, by far and away the highest paid footballer in Europe. The Frenchman was earning around £60 million a year at Paris Saint-Germain, and that’s before bonuses are taken into account.

However, since leaving the Ligue 1 champions for Real Madrid, the 25-year-old has been bumped down to third in the list with a yearly salary of £26.3m.

That’s because Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong earns £31.5m a year at the Camp Nou, making him Europe’s highest paid footballer.

The Dutchman’s teammate Robert Lewandowski is the next best-paid star, taking home just over £28m every season in Catalonia.

There’s a good gap between Mbappe and England captain Harry Kane, who is paid roughly £21m a year by Bayern Munich.

Next in the ranking are Manchester City duo Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, who are paid £20.8m and £19.5m a season respectively.

Haaland is a rare case as he reportedly earns more through bonuses (£24.7m) than he does base salary.

Real Madrid defender David Alaba takes home £18.9m and Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic earns £18.7m, while Premier League duo Mohamed Salah and Casemiro round out the top 10 with both earning £18.2m per season.

The £17.6m salary of Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer makes him the highest paid goalkeeper in the world, a title held by David de Gea until he left Manchester United in 2023.

Los Blancos duo Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior both reportedly earn £17.5m every year.

The top 20 highest paid footballers in Europe are:

1: Frenkie de Jong – £31.5 million

2: Robert Lewandowski – £28m

3: Kylian Mbappe – £26.3m

4: Harry Kane – £21m

5: Kevin De Bruyne – £20.8m

6: Erling Haaland – £19.5m

7: David Alaba – £18.9m

8: Dusan Vlahovic – £18.7m

9: Mohamed Salah – £18.2m

10: Casemiro – £18.2m

11: Manuel Neuer – £17.6m

12: Jude Bellingham – £17.5m

13: Vinicius Junior – £17.5m

14: Jan Oblak – £17.5m

15: Thomas Muller – £17.2m

16: Romelu Lukaku – £16.9m

17: Raheem Sterling – £16.9m

18: Leroy Sane – £16.8m

19: Ousmane Dembele – £16.8m

20: Joshua Kimmich – £16.4m

All salaries featured do not include bonuses and are based on data published by Capology and shared by Transfermarkt.