Highest paid La Liga players of 2020

By being one of Europe’s top leagues, La Liga has some of the wealthiest and most valuable clubs in the world. That wealth and income ensures that La Liga teams, like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico, can pay their players hefty amount of wages and salaries while still maintaining a sizeable profit. Or at least this was the norm before the COVID-19, now the financial situation is totally different.

Although the average salary Premier League teams pay their player is twice than that of La Liga players, as we have highlighted in

,

highest paid La Liga players of 2020

earn a significant amount more than that of Premier League and that is because of the huge disparity between salaries of normal or even good players with that of La Liga superstars. It will be interesting to see how the pandemic affects the player wages in years to come, since many football clubs, Like Barcelona, are already in deep financial trouble and have to cut down on player wages. But let’s see who is on our list:

La Liga Top Earners in 2020

You have to keep in mind that, since most player contracts are not publicized, many of the numbers that are presented here, although precise, are just estimates that various outlets have made and we have tried to narrow down to more precise numbers. But nonetheless, here are La Liga top earners in 2020:

10. Karim Benzema

We start our list of

La Liga top earners in 2020

with Real Madrid’s main man in attack, Karim Benzema. The 32 year-old, who is now in his 12th season with

, has been the main source of goals for them since Cristiano Ronaldo left the club, also with Gareth Bale became a fringe player, and he hasn’t done a bad job of it since he has scored more than 25 goals a season since Ronaldo’s departure.

, who joined Real Madrid in 2009, has taken part in most of Real Madrid’s immense success since then. Although some may criticize him for not scoring as much as a player of his position in a team like Real Madrid should, he has shown that his playing style extends further tha only scoring and has, at times, allowed his teammates to shine more than him.

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Karim Benzema has scored 255 goals in 554 matches and has won an unprecedented 4 Champions League trophies, 4 FIFA Club World Cups, 3 La Liga titles and 2 Copa del Reys with Real Madrid. So he has more than earned his

€324,000 weekly

salary which adds up to

€16.8 million

over a year. Of course there are several performance-related and trophy-related add-ons which could improve that number quite a bit, all of which make Benzema one of the highest paid La Liga players of 2020. As it is Benzema’s contract expires in June, 2022 and we’ll have to see if Real Madrid extends his contract or not.

9. Marcelo

Another Real Madrid veteran,

, who we have recently named in our top 10 left backs ever. The Brazilian defender and Real Madrid’s vice-captain takes the 9th spot on our list of highest paid players in La Liga 2020. Marcelo, who joined Real Madrid back in 2006, is alongside Sergio Ramos the only two players remaining that have played with the original Galacticos.

As Real Madrid’s 2nd longest serving player after Sergio Ramos, Marcelo has been heavily involved in everything that Real Madrid has won over the past decade and a half. The Brazilian left-back, who followed in his countryman and idol’s (Roberto Carlos) footsteps, has proven a valuable asset on both defense and attack without any competition and only just recently he has lost game time, which is completely understandable considering he is 32 years old.

Marcelo has played in 514 matches for Real Madrid in which he has scored 38 times. He has won 5 La Liga titles, 4 Champions League trophies, 4 FIFA Club World Cups, and 2 Copa del Reys with Real Madrid, which makes his

€392,000 weekly

wage justifiable. His base salary over a year adds to just over

€20 million

. Marcelo’s current contract, much like Karim Benzema, runs till the end of next season but for now he is one of

the highest paid La Liga players of 2020

.

8. Toni Kroos

The 2014 World Cup winner and one of the best midfielders playing today, Toni Kroos is the next superstar on the list of

highest paid players in La Liga 2020

. The German midfield maestro is currently spending his 7th season at Madrid, having joined the Los Blancos from Bayern Munich. Like many of the players on our list, he is a player that most football fans know quite well. But let’s see how he has done at Madrid so far.

After winning practically every club honor he could with Bayern Munich,

joined

after winning the World Cup and after Real Madrid had won their 10th Champions League trophy and he has since helped them win 3 more on top of 2 La Liga titles and 4 FIFA Club World Cups. His individual achievements are numerous as he has always been considered to be one of the best central midfielders in the past decade, a consistency that many players could only dream of.

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As such, through his own high profile as a World Cup winner who also proved a serial winner at club level as well as his immense impact on reinvigorating Real Madrid’s midfield line, which allowed them 3 consecutive Champions League titles, Toni Kroos has reached a position in which he has negotiated a sum of

€392,000 weekly

in weekly wages which adds up to more than

€20 million a year

. This makes Kroos one of the highest paid La Liga players of 2020 as well as the best paid German footballer according to Bild, which is expected of a player of his status.

7. Jan Oblak

The only goalkeeper on our list is the supremely talented

, who is coincidentally the only player not from Barcelona or Real Madrid amongst the La Liga highest paid players per week in 2020. The 27 year-old Oblak has become one of the greatest goalkeepers of this generation, if not the greatest, and has understandably attracted some of the bigger teams in Europe, so as a result, Atletico Madrid had to set a financial incentive for him not to leave the club, making him the club’s top earner.

Oblak joined

from Benfica in 2014 to fill the void that was left by Thibaut Courtois’ departure to Chelsea, and he has done so perfectly, even surpassing the goalkeepers that came before him. As he has been named both La Liga and Champions League’s Goalkeeper of the Season 4 times in his five full seasons at the club, which just shows how much of a talent he is.

Oblak has helped Ateltico Madrid reach 2 major European Finals, once in Champions League and once in Europa League, but they only managed to win the latter. As his most recent contract extension, which was penned at the start of 2019, suggests, Oblak is entitled to

€392,000 weekly

wages that sumps up to over

€20 million a year

. His contract runs until the end of 2022-23 season and any potential suitors would have to consider his hefty weekly salary, as well as his enormous price tag, which suits Atletico just fine because it means they can keep him at the club for longer.

6. Frankie de Jong

Frankie de Jong is the youngest player amongst

La Liga highest paid players in 2020

. Unlike many players on this list, who have worked hard to reach this level of financial success, de Jong is yet to prove himself, as first a world class player and then as a serial winner, to be deserving of such a hefty salary. But his initial price tag of €75 million and his unbelievable high wages was not a surprise as de Jong was the subject of a bidding war between various top European clubs. It was only natural for Barca to offer him such wages when they got their bid accepted by Ajax.

Frankie de Jong, who started his footballing journey with Willem II and eventually got into Jong Ajax, established himself as one of Europe’s top talents by being a part of the promising Ajax team that reached Europa League final and Champions League semi-final in consecutive season. The 23 year-old received high praise from football fans and critics as they likened him to the great Franz Beckenbauer or Barca legend Andres Iniesta, for his ability to progress the ball forward into the attack, but he knows more than anyone that he has to do a lot more if he wants to be deserving of such high praise.

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With a bidding war that involved financial heavyweights like PSG and Manchester City, Barcelona had to make sure to offer him more than enough money so he wouldn’t turn them down because of the money alone, which ended up being a staggering amount of

€403,000 in weekly wages

, which adds up to almost

€21 million a year

. As it is, with him having a somewhat forgettable first season at Barcelona and with the club being in serious financial trouble, de Jong has to show what he is capable of to help Barca reach the heights they want to.

5. Luka Modric

One of only two Ballon d’Or winners amongst the highest paid La Liga players of 2020 is the Croatian Luka Modric. The 35 year-old, who started his career back in his own country with Dinamo Zagreb, became well known in Europe by performing exceptionally well for Tottenham Hotspur which earned him a £30 million move to Real Madrid in 2012. Since then, Modric has climbed unbelievable footballing heights, such that was never expected of him, and he has surprised everyone with his elegance and talent on the pitch.

After getting established in the

’s first eleven, Modric’s involvement in their midfield, as their chief playmaker, was vital in them winning their 10 Champions League title and later his pairing with Kroos and Casemiro proved to be the best midfield pairing in Europe, evidenced by their 3 consecutive Champions League trophies, which

took even further by helping his team to an unlikely World Cup final. All of which earned him the Ballon d’Or award in 2019, making him the first player in 11 years other than Messi and Ronaldo to win the trophy.

Modric, who is coincidentally the oldest player on our list of highest paid La Liga players of 2020, has a contract that sees him get paid

€435,000 in weekly wages

which adds up to

€22,620,000 yearly

. With his contract running out at the end of this season, Modric’s future at Madrid seems in doubt but for now he is the first player to crack the top 5 highest paid La Liga players of 2020.

4. Sergio Ramos

Who else but Real Madrid’s main man could be this high on this list and deservedly so as Sergio Ramos seems to have been carrying Real Madrid on his back since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Ramos, who is one of the most well-known players in the world, is currently Real Madrid and Spain’s captain and their longest serving player. He is Spain’s most capped player (178) and has the 4th most appearances for Real Madrid with 660.

Sergio Ramos has always been one of the best defenders of his generation, dating back to his first days in 2005 at Real Madrid when he joined them from Sevillia, but what has been interesting in these past couple of seasons is his desire to score goals, which has resulted in near 130 goals as a defender, 100 of which has been for Real Madrid, which is just incredible. Add to that the fact that he is still one of the world’s best defenders and you end up with a player who could easily walk into any team across Europe and have a starting position.

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A point that could prove problematic for Real Madrid in the next few months as they will be negotiating a new contract with Ramos to extend his stay at the club. His current contract, which sees him as one of

the highest paid La Liga players of 2020

, earns him a weekly salary of

€520,000

which adds up to just over

€27 million a year

. Whether he will agree to take a pay cut in this current financial climate or whether he will agree to join his many suitors like PSG and Juventus, remains to be seen, but for now he seems to be as happy as ever in Madrid.

3. Eden Hazard

The last Real Madrid player contending to be

the highest paid footballer in La Liga 2020

is also one of their newest player who joined them at the start of the last season, and that player is none other than the Belgium’s captain and former Chelsea star,

. In his time at Chelsea, Hazard never shied away from revealing his dream of playing for Los Blancos and he finally got his move in a deal that could rise up to €146.1 million, after helping

 win the Europa league.

But since joining Real Madrid, Hazard has been a shadow of the player he was at Chelsea, mainly because of his numerous injuries that has plagued him since last season. At his age (29), Hazard just can’t afford to have off seasons like he did last year, because there may be not much time left for him at the top of the game and with the way the clubs are facing financial problems, Real Madrid can’t afford for a player of Hazard’s caliber to not perform either.

So as Hazard goes into the second year of his 5-year contract, which sees him earn

€614,000 weekly

(with add-ons) and almost

€32 million a year

, the jury is still out on his time with the current La Liga Champions. With him only appearing in 26 games so far and just 2 goals to his name, he has a lot to prove to have a justified place amongst the highest paid La Liga players of 2020.

2. Antoine Griezmann

Le Petit Prince

has not been having a good time of it at Camp Nou. The World Cup champion and the former Atletico Madrid joined

, after years of flirting with a move to the Catalan side, in what he hoped to be the next big step in his career but the move hasn’t really worked out for Antoine Griezmann as of yet. The Frenchman just seems lost and not comfortable at all in the positions he has played at since last season.

, who seemed just behind Messi and Ronaldo in the past 5 years, especially since Euro 2016, was deemed by many in Barcelona’s hierarchy to be the superstar that can ease the huge blow of Lionel Messi’s departure in the next few years but he doesn’t seem to have found his best position at Barca and More Importantly, he does not seem to really enjoy his playing time there either.

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All of which has put Barcelona, who are already in great financial trouble, in a tough spot as they are considering to cut their losses short and sell Griezmann to one of his many suitors or be patient with him until he finds his feet, which he has not well into his second season at the club. With Griezmann earning

€655,000 weekly

which adds up to more than

€34 million a year

on Barca’s huge wage bill, something that makes him one of

the La Liga highest paid players per week in 2020

just behind Lionel Messi, Barcelona’s patience may very well run short and he may see himself out of favor in Camp Nou!

1. Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi being the La Liga highest paid players per week in 2020 is a surprise to no one as the Argentine more than deserves such high salary and status as one of the greatest players in football history. In fact, there aren’t many clubs who are not ready to pay the same amount, if not higher, to secure Messi’s signature. A fact that may very well be tested at the end of this season as Messi’s contract and tenure at

finally comes to an end, with the player voicing his desire to try new things.

, who became the 3rd best paid athlete in 2020 just behind Roger Federer and Cristiano Ronaldo, who earned €106 and €105 million respectively, by earning €104 million through his salary and various endorsements, is set to earn much more this season as his current contract with Barcelona reportedly has a loyalty clause which promises a huge sum of money if he decides to honor his contract to let it run out.

After the last summer’s debacle between Lionel Messi and the Barcelona’s hierarchy, especially the chairman Bartameu, in which Messi clearly stated that he wanted to leave the club but the club blocked his move, the two now seem at an impasse which will probably take until the next summer to resolve. As it is though, Messi earns a whopping amount of near

€1,380,000 a week

which adds up to

€72 million a year

in salary, add-ons and winnings. With many Barcelona fans concerned for the future of their beloved club, it seems like Messi’s departure will be the last thing they need but it may be something which they can’t stop!

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