Footballers’ wages have become a bit of a sour conversation in recent times – and it makes complete sense given how extortionate some of their wage bills are! Premier League clubs tend to dominate the continent in regard to how much they pay their players, but it is sides from other European top flights that also find themselves at the summit of the pack. The ever-growing Saudi Pro League is quickly becoming a thorn in their competition, however.

European teams – mainly from England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain – are typically found battling it out in the latter stages of the Champions League and Europa League stages, where they are rewarded financially and thus, cause a vicious financial circle that outsiders find difficult to break into.

However, the January transfer window has now slammed firmly shut: no more players will be bumping up a club’s wage bill, while no well-paid players will be offloaded to free up some much-needed space, either. And so, we thought, what better time to take a look at the top 16 wage-spenders in world football? Here is a full rundown of how much the top 16 teams in football circles pay in yearly wages – via figures from Capology.

16

Inter Milan, Serie A

Wage bill: £117,093,958

Inter Milan have one-upped their San Siro rivals AC Milan, a side who do not make the top 15, by forking out more on wages over the course of the year – £117,185,449, to be precise. Exciting trio Lautaro Martinez, Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu are among the highest earners at the San Siro, though the rest of the hefty wage bill is relatively spread out.

After reaching the final of the Champions League in 2022/23 and 2024/25, the Italian giants will have every belief they can take it one step further in the coming years – and have a spine of players such as Alessandro Bastoni (£169,155-per-week) and Piotr Zielinski (£138,279-per-week) whom will certainly aid their aspirations of getting their hands of Europe’s most prestigious trophy.

15

Atletico Madrid, La Liga

Wage bill: £132,864,738

Atletico Madrid don’t have the same financial clout as La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona, but they still have the capabilities to pay their best players a hefty sum of money by virtue of qualifying for the Champions League every year.

Club legend Jan Oblak, who has been the club’s starting goalkeeper for over a decade, is comfortably their highest-paid player as he earns just south of £18m-per-year.

January signing Ademola Lookman, as well as Julian Alvarez, are both paid £207,502-per-week. Antoine Griezmann is still among Atletico’s five highest-paid players despite being past his prime and nearing the end of his career, as is Marcos Llorente.

14

Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League

Wage bill: £138,812,000

Tottenham have traditionally been careful with how they have spent their money but, in recent years, they have decided to splash out a little more to try and close the gap to England’s top clubs. It hasn’t worked as they would have hoped, however, with Spurs now battling at the bottom of England’s top tier.

Xavi Simons became the club’s joint highest-paid player when he signed for the club in the summer of 2025. He penned a £195,000-per-week deal, the same terms as erratic defender Cristian Romero. James Maddison, who has suffered numerous injuries in recent years, earns £170,000-per-week, while Conor Gallagher and Mohammed Kudus are also among the club’s highest-paid players.

13

Aston Villa, Premier League

Wage bill: £143,400,400

Aston Villa have the onerous task of matching the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool on the pitch – and the same goes for their financial expenditure. The arrival of Manchester United outcast Jadon Sancho, who earns £200,000 at Villa Park, has significantly upped their yearly spend.

Elsewhere, midfield trio Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers are also among Unai Emery’s best-paid players. Emiliano Martinez, an Argentine shot stopper who is commonly regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in world football, is also paid handsomely at £150,000-per-week, which means he takes home just south of £8 million every year.

12

Al-Ahli, Saudi Pro League

Wage bill: £146,287,600

Al-Ahli now find themselves rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite in terms of what clubs spend on players’ wages. Former Premier League hotshot Ivan Toney is the club’s second highest-paid player, earning £423,469-per-week.

Expectedly, Riyad Mahrez – whose illustrious stint at Manchester City made him such an attractive prospect – pockets the most (£866,526 on a weekly basis), while ex-AC Milan powerhouse Franck Kessie earns, in comparison, a modest £232,402 per week. Merih Demiral and Edouard Mendy are both paid £10,358,478 per annum.

11

Chelsea, Premier League

Wage bill: £161,850,000

The Blues have been known to spend big in the transfer market since Todd Boehly took over with their 2023 summer coup, worth £115 million, for Moises Caicedo’s signature being a prime example of their exuberant spending. It seems, however, that they are seemingly more sensibly-driven when it comes to paying player wages, especially as they have so many to cover.

They are the fifth-biggest wage-paying club in the Premier League (more on the others to come) with their total spend on a yearly basis being £161,850,000. Club skipper Reece James, tands in first place on £250,000-per-week with Wesley Fofana being the only other player to score more than £200,000-per-week in west London.

10

Paris Saint-Germain, Ligue 1

Wage bill: £154,177,306

Paris Saint-Germain once sat second on the list by a comfortable distance. But with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe long gone, they are now ranked way down in 10th with their players taking home a collective £154,177,306-per-year.

What’s most interesting about PSG’s position is that they are the only team from the French top division to feature. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Achraf Hakimi – the club’s second and third-highest earners – earn £271,578 and £226,426-per-week respectively. Veteran Marquinhos, the club’s highest earner Ousmane Dembele and Lucas Hernandez are also among their highest-earning assets.

9

Manchester United, Premier League

Wage bill: £162,331,000

The Manchester-based outfit previously set up a so-called ‘Ronaldo rule’ which will prevent new signings from earning more than £200,000 per week in wages, while those already present at the club will remain unscathed. That, however, has not stopped them from earning ninth place on the list of highest-paying clubs in terms of their respective wage bills.

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Former Real Madrid man Casemiro earns a whopping £350,000 at Old Trafford on a weekly basis, but he won’t for much longer as it’s already been announced he will leave the club this year. Bruno Fernandes is the club’s second highest-earning asset, and deservedly so given his all-action displays, while Matthijs De Ligt earns £195,000-per-week.

8

Liverpool, Premier League

Wage bill: £173,492,800

Liverpool have seen their wage bill rise astronomically in the past year. The Reds handed star men Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk huge contracts in 2025 to stop them moving elsewhere for free. Salah now earns £400,000-per-week, while the Dutchman earns £350,000-per-week.

Those contract renewals didn’t stop Liverpool splashing the cash that summer, as they broke their transfer record twice, with Florian Wirtz (£200,000-per-week) and Alexander Isak (£280,000-per-week) joining the club. Cody Gakpo, despite his inconsistency, is the club’s fourth highest-paid player.

7

Arsenal, Premier League

Wage bill: £185,692,000

Arsenal’s Kai Havertz is their biggest earner and pockets just shy of £15 million-per-year, while 16 of Arsenal’s squad earn £100,000-per-week or more. Mikel Arteta and his team have the Premier League, arguably the world’s biggest division, to thank for their big spending, both in terms of transfer fees and wages.

Declan Rice, the club’s marquee signing in 2023, is the club’s joint-fourth highest earner with Martin Odegaard, with the engine room duo earning £240,000-per-week and £12.48m-per-year. With their overall expenditure growing, the north Londoners’ higher-ups will be keen to get some silverware in their cabinet sooner rather than later as a means of showing benefits for splashing the cash.