Shock as best-paid player in La Liga is revealed to be veteran defender | OneFootball

Real Madrid will likely bring in the best-paid player in Europe this summer, with Kylian Mbappe set to sit right at the top of the wage structure at the Santiago Bernabeu. However the deputy to the throne is somewhat surprising.

According L’Equipe, Kylian Mbappe is the best paid player in Europe, earning €6m per month (€78m per annum). Elsewhere Kevin de Bruyne earns the most in the Premier League, on €2.02m per month, Harry Kane earns a little over that at €2.1m, and Victor Osimhen is some way behind on €1.5m. MD have carried the best paid players in La Liga, and the top of the list is something of a surprise.

Real Madrid defender David Alaba reportedly earns more per month, at €1.88m, than any other player in Spain. The Austrian defender did arrive on a free from Bayern Munich, which will have upped his ability to demand higher wages, but nevertheless, the 31-year-old is a long way from the most valuable player in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.

He earns just more than Robert Lewandowski, who is on €1.87m per month. Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham rank third and fourth, both earning €1.67m, while Ilkay Gundogan of Barcelona rounds out the top five, also on the same wages. It equates to about €20m per year. The best-paid Atletico Madrid player is goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who is also on the same deal.

Presumably these deals are the average salary, as one of the reasons Barcelona are thought to be struggling with their wage bill so much is the backloading of contracts like those of Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong. These figures are also thought to be before icnome tax, which in Spain is 50% for top-earners.