Many people think that Cristiano Ronaldo is out of time when he has to drift to Saudi Arabia to play football. But there is a fact: In the Saudi Pro League, CR7 is the highest paid player in the world with 173 million pounds/year.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
Cristiano Ronaldo is the first player to come to Saudi Arabia to play football. The owner of 5 Golden Ball titles signed a contract with Al Nassr club from the beginning of this year, until 2025. He is receiving a salary of 173 million pounds per year, equivalent to 3.4 million pounds per week. According to Forbes magazine’s poll, Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete in 2022. This year, the No. 1 position on this list is probably also difficult to escape from CR7’s hands.
KARIM BENZEMA
Perhaps, Karim Benzema intends to extend his contract with Real Madrid and will retire in the colors of the Spanish Royal team. But because the offer from Al-Ittihad was too attractive, he decided to move to Saudi Arabia to play football on a free transfer. As the reigning Golden Ball, the former France player’s salary is also paid accordingly. It is known that Benzema pocketed 172 million pounds a year after joining Al-Ittihad, meaning only 1 million pounds less than Ronaldo a year.
N’GOLO KANTE
Kante has not been able to keep his top form lately, mainly due to frequent injuries. Therefore, when he received an offer from Al-Ittihad, he considered it the last “oppression” before retiring. The French star hastily agreed to play in the Saudi Pro League to stand with compatriot Benzema. In the new team shirt, Kante will receive a salary of £ 86 million / year. That number is quite far behind Ronaldo and Benzema, but still enough to help him monopolize the 3rd place in the list of the highest paid players in Saudi Arabia.
RIYAD MAHREZ
Riyad Mahrez has just experienced a resoundingly successful season, when with Man City won the great “triple”. As the reigning champion of the Champions League and the English Premier League, of course he also received extremely good treatment. According to the British media, Al-Ahli club is paying Mahrez a salary of 39 million pounds/year. The figure could be even higher, if the Saudi team did not have to pay Man City a transfer fee of 30 million pounds.
JORDAN HENDERSON
A few days ago, midfielder Jordan Henderson decided to leave Liverpool to join Al-Ettifaq club – the team that will be led by former Liverpool player Steven Gerrard. Henderson’s contract with the team playing in the Saud Pro League has a term of 3 years. It is known that each year the 33-year-old midfielder pocketed 36 million pounds. This figure is too modest compared to the income of Ronaldo or Benzema, but it is enough to make Henderson the highest paid English player in the world.
KALIDOU KOULIBALY
Kalidou Koulibaly’s nightmare ended last month, when he decided to move to Al-Hilal club. The transfer fee that the Saudi team has to pay for the Stamford Bridge team to get the Senegal star is £ 20 million. After switching to play football in the Saudi Pro League, Koulibaly will receive a salary of £ 30 million / year. In an interview a few days ago, the 32-year-old said he was very satisfied with his current income.
MARCELO BROZÓVIC
At the age of 30, Brozovic should have had many options to continue playing top football in Europe. In it, Juventus tried to invite the Croatian star. However, he turned down the opportunity to continue playing in Serie A to join Al Nassr club, thereby becoming a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo. According to some sources, the Saudi team spent 15.5 million pounds for Inter Milan to get Brozovic’s services. In the new team, the Croatian midfielder receives a salary of £ 21 million per year.
ROBERTO FIRMINO
Striker Roberto Firmino announced his farewell to Liverpool before the end of the 2022/23 season. He received many offers. However, the Brazilian star decided to join Al- Ahli. In Saudi Arabia, Firmino is paid £17 million a year, equivalent to £326,000 a week. That figure is almost double what he was previously paid by Liverpool. For a player who is “already getting old” like Firmino, that is really a desirable salary.
RUBEN NEVES
Ruben Neves is only 26 years old. That is the ripe age in the career of most players. But instead of choosing to join European teams (Neves once contacted Barca this summer), Neves decided to go to Saudi Arabia to play football, after parting with Wolves. In the new team, the Portuguese star only receives a salary of 15.6 million pounds/year. However, according to the midfielder’s admission, it is a number that he did not dare to dream of in his whole life and it is enough for Neves to provide for the whole family an extremely prosperous life.
FOFANA
At the age of 28, Fofana still has a lot of opportunities to reach the top if playing football in Europe. The Lens club that he plays for in the 2022/23 season has won tickets to the Champions League, but the Ivory Coast midfielder is not interested in the opportunity to play in Europe’s most prestigious arena. Even Arsenal’s offer did not make the midfielder move. Fofana decided to choose to join Al-Nassr to be teammates with Cristiano Ronaldo. In Saudi Arabia, he is paid 13 million pounds a year.