While waiting for the upcoming match between Schalke and Manchester United, I thought to share this interesting list of the top 100 highest paid soccer players in Europe. All this information was compiled by the Portuguese magazine football finance so credit goes out them.
The player on top of the list is a Portuguese to, not a very big surprise Cristiano Ronaldo. He is followed by Lionel Messi and believe it or not Fernando Torres.
Player – Club – Monthly – Yearly
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid – €1.000.000 – €12.000.000
2. Lionel Messi – FC Barcelona – €875.000 – €10.500.000
3. Fernando Torres – Chelsea – €833.000 – €10.000.000
4. Yaya Toure – Manchester City – €833.000- €10.000.000
5. Wayne Rooney – Manchester United – €791.000 – €9.500.000
6. Ricardo Kaka – Real Madrid – €833.000 – €9.000.000
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – AC Milan – €833.000 – €9.000.000
8. Emmanuel Adebayor – Real Madrid – €708.000 – €8.500.000
9. Carlos Tevez – Manchester City – €666.000 – €8.000.000
10. Samuel Eto’o – Internazionale – €666.000 – €8.000.000
11. Frank Ribery – Bayern Munich – €666.000 – €8.000.000
12. John Terry – Chelsea – €625.000 – €7.500.000
13. Frank Lampard – Chelsea – €625.000 – €7.500.000
14. Steven Gerrard – Liverpool – €625.000 – €7.500.000
15. Xavi – FC Barcelona – €625.000 – €7.500.000
16. Andres Iniesta – FC Barcelona – €583.000 – €7.000.000
17. David Villa – FC Barcelona – €583.000 – €7.000.000
18. Daniel Alves – FC Barcelona – €583.000 – €7.000.000
19. Edin Dzeko – Manchester City – €541.000 – €6.500.000
20. Rio Ferdinand – Manchester United – €541.000 – €6.500.000
21. Mario Balotelli – Manchester City – €541.000 – €6.500.000
22. Kolo Toure – Manchester City – €541.000 – €6.500.000
23. Ashley Cole – Chelsea – €541.000 ¬- €6.500.000
24. Glen Johnson – Liverpool – €541.000 – €6.500.000
25. Didier Drogba – Chelsea – €516.000 – €6.200.000
26. Iker Casillas – Real Madrid – €500.000 – €6.000.000
27. Karim Benzema – Real Madrid – €500.000 – €6.000.000
28. Gonzalo Higuain – Real Madrid – €500.000 – €6.000.000
29. Cesc Fabregas – Arsenal – €500.000 – €6.000.000
30. Peter Cech – Chelsea – €500.000 – €6.000.000
31. Gianluigi Buffon – Juventus – 500.000 – €6.000.000
32. Victor Valdes – FC Barcelona – €500.000 – €6.000.000
33. Andrea Pirlo – AC Milan – €500.000 – €6.000.000
34. Frederic Kanoute – Sevilla – €500.000 – €6.000.000
35. Francesco Totti – AS Roma – €458.000 – €5.500.000
36. Patrcik Vieira – Manchester City – €458.000 – €5.500.000
37. Kevin Kuranyi – Dinamo Moscow – €458.000 – €5.500.000
38. Bastian Schweinsteiger – Bayern Munich – €458.000 – €5.500.000
39. Gareth Barry – Manchester City – €458.000 – €5.500.000
40. Arjen Robben – Bayern Munich – €458.000 – €5.500.000
41. Aleksandar Kolarov – Manchester City – €458.000 – €5.500.000
42. Joe Cole – Liverpool – €450.000 – €5.400.000
43. Mesut Özil – Real Madrid – €416.000 – €5.000.000
44. Sami Khedira – Real Madrid – €416.000 – €5.000.000
45. Michael Ballack – Bayer Leverkusen – €416.000 – €5.000.000
46. Ronaldinho – Flamengo – €416.000 – €5.000.000
47. Sergio Aguero – Atletico Madrid – €416.000 – €5.000.000
48. Carles Puyol – FC Barcelona – €416.000 – €5.000.000
49. Luca Toni – Juventus – €416.000 – €5.000.000
50. Lassana Diarra – Real Madrid – €416.000 – €5.000.000
51. Wayne Bridge – Manchester City – €416.000 – €5.000.000
52. Joleon Lescott – Manchester City – €416.000 – €5.000.000
53. Edwin Van der Sar – Manchester United – €416.000 – €5.000.000
54. Patrice Evra – Manchester United – €416.000 – €5.000.000
55. Andy Carroll – Liverpool – €416.000 – €5.000.000
56. Dimitar Berbatov – Manchester United – €400.000 – €4.800.000
57. Andrei Arshavin – Arsenal – €400.000 – €4.800.000
58. Nicolas Anelka – Chelsea – €400.000 – €4.800.000
59. Yoann Gourcuff – Olympique Lyon – €400.000 – €4.800.000
60. Ryan Giggs – Manchester United – €400.000 – €4.800.000
61. Daniele De Rossi – AS Roma – €383.000 – €4.600.000
62. Ricardo Carvalho – Real Madrid – €375.000 – €4.500.000
63. Alessandro Nesta – AC Milan – €375.000 – €4.500.000
64. Diego Milito – Internazionale – €375.000 – €4.500.000
65. Júlio César – Internazionale – €375.000 – €4.500.000
66. Matthieu Flamini – AC Milan – €375.000 – €4.500.000
67. David Beckham – LA Galaxy – €375.000 – €4.500.000
68. Gabriel Heinze – Olympique Marseille – €375.000 – €4.500.000
69. Diego Forlan – Atletico Madrid – €375.000 – €4.500.000
70. Paul Scholes – Manchester United – €375.000 – €4.500.000
71. Xabi Alonso – Real Madrid – €375.000 – €4.500.000
72. Jamie Carragher – Liverpool – €375.000 – €4.500.000
73. Robbie Van Persie – Arsenal €375.000 – €4.500.000
74. David Silva – Manchester City – €358.000 – €4.300.000
75. Lucho Gonzalez – Olympique Marseille – €358.000 – €4.300.000
76. Florent Malouda – Chelsea – €358.000 – €4.300.000
77. Craig Bellamy – Cardiff City – €358.000 – €4.300.000
78. Amauri – Parma – €350.000 – €4.200.000
79. Miroslav Klose – Bayern Munich – €350.000 – €4.200.000
80. Cris – Olympique Lyon – €350.000 – €4.200.000
81. Lisandro Lopez – Olympique Lyon – €341.000 – €4.100.000
82. Raul Gonzalez – Schalke 04 – €333.000 – €4.000.000
83. Mário Gomez – Bayern Munich – €333.000 – €4.000.000
84. Robinho – AC Milan – €333.000 – €4.000.000
85. Alessandro Del Piero – Juventus – €333.000 – €4.000.000
86. Wesley Sneijder – Internazionale – €333.000 – €4.000.000
87. Esteban Cambiasso – Internazionale – €333.000 – €4.000.000
88. Pepe – Real Madrid – €333.000 – €4.000.000
89. Clarence Seedorf – AC Milan – €333.000 – €4.000.000
90. Ruud Van Nistelrooy – Hamburg – €333.000 – €4.000.000
91. Deco – Fluminense – €333.000 – €4.000.000
92. Javier Mascherano – FC Barcelona – €333.000 – €4.000.000
93. Thorsten Frings – Werder Bremen – €333.000 – €4.000.000
94. Nemanja Vidic – Manchester United – €333.000 – €4.000.000
95. Diego – Wolfsburg – €333.000 – €4.000.000
96. André Pierre Gignac – Olympique Marseille – €316.000 – €3.800.000
97. Thierry Henry – New York Red Bulls – €316.000 – €3.800.000
98. Maicon – Internazionale – €316.000 – €3.800.000
99. James Milner – Manchester City – €316.000 – €3.800.000
100. Ji-Sung Park – Manchester United – €316.000 – €3.800.000
What do you think of the list?