In L’Equipe’s annual salary report The French news outlet revealed who the 10 best-paid footballers in Europe are going by monthly wage before tax.
Of these 10, five play in Spain, a pair play in France and England respectively while just the one player features in Italy.
- Lionel Messi €8.3m
The amount of money Messi receives on a monthly basis is extraordinary. After signing a new contract with Barcelona Messi beat his long-term rival Cristiano Ronaldo by earning €8.3 m.
- Cristiano Ronaldo €4.7m
Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is second and earns €4.7m a month before taxes.
- Antoine Griezmann €3.3m
Surprisingly, coming in third is Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid who earns €3.3m a month following his well-publicised contract renewal before the World Cup this summer.
4/5 Neymar €3.06m, Luis Suarez €2.9m
Paris Saint-Germain's Neymar follows Griezmann with a reported monthly earnings of €3.06m while Luis Suarez completes the top five with a monthly wage of €2.9m.
- Gareth Bale €2.5
Real Madrid’s sole representative is Gareth Bale, who earns €2.5 Million and is sixth on the list.
- Philippe Coutinho €2.3m
Barcelona, meanwhile, have three in the top 10 as, in addition to Messi and Suarez, Philippe Coutinho is placed in seventh, earning €2.3m (£2m/$2.6m) after signing with the Liga club from Liverpool in January 2018.
- Alexis Sanchez €2.28
The first Premier League representative is Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez, who earns around €2.28m per month at Old Trafford and features in eighth in the list.
- Kylian Mbappe €1.73
The French newspaper also report that Mbappe's monthly wage increase by £160,000 (€180,000) between his first and second season at the Parisan club following his big-money switch from Monaco.
- Mesut Ozil €1.6m
Rounding off the top 10 is another Premier League player in Arsenal's Mesut Ozil, who is credited with a salary of €1.6m per month with the Gunners.
The highest-earning Bundesliga player, meanwhile, is Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski, who missed out on the top 10 but earns a €1.33m monthly salary.
