Once known as the hub of the popular (some might prefer the term ‘infamous’) blood sport bullfighting, Spain is now recognised as the prime location for footballing action. More than the performance of the Spanish national team in international competitions (including the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro), it is the club football action in the European country that stays on the radar of most fans around the globe. And, much of the credit for the same is attributed to La Liga, the country’s highest-division domestic football league with some of the highest-paid players in the game.
La Liga is the third-most-popular professional football league in the world, right behind the Bundesliga of Germany and England’s Premier League. The fame it enjoys is justified by the involvement of some of the biggest sides in the global club football landscape. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, by virtue of their domestic, continental and international success, have drawn audiences to the league for decades. Given their respective fan bases, the two behemoths of the footballing fraternity are likely to continue doing so.
As a matter of fact, teams from La Liga have won more UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and FIFA Club World Cup titles than any other club side from other European domestic leagues.
The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, two of the greatest players of all time, came as a shock to the fans of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. However, it also made the race for the La Liga crown more open-ended and competitive. In the past few seasons, several sides have been breathing down the necks of the two juggernauts. The summer transfer window of 2023-24 saw the Spanish league clubs get busy in terms of acquiring the best players to vie for the La Liga title.
Curious to know which player earns the most in the competition? We attempt to answer the same question as we bring to you a list of the 10 highest-paid players in La Liga. The curation has been made on the basis of the annual salaries of these footballers.
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Which players draw the highest salaries in La Liga?
Robert Lewandowski
Annual salary in 2023: USD 34 million
We kick-start the list of the highest-paid players in La Liga with Robert Lewandowski, one of the most accomplished forwards the game has ever seen. FC Barcelona’s talismanic marksman and the captain of the Polish national football team flaunts some of the wildest career statistics by a footballer — in over 800 club football matches, Lewandowski has scored 582 goals.
The Polish forward has enjoyed a successful career so far, both with his teams and personally. His list of silverware includes 10 Bundesliga titles, a UEFA Champions League crown, a UEFA Super Cup, a FIFA Club World Cup and a La Liga trophy.
Furthermore, Lewandowski has won the Best FIFA Men’s Player (in 2020 and 2021), UEFA Men’s Player of the Year (in 2019-20), Ballon d’Or Striker of the Year (in 2021 and 2022) and the European Golden Shoe (in 2020-21 and 2021-22), among other individual accolades.
Toni Kroos
Annual salary in 2023: USD 26.5 million
A legend in his own right, Toni Kroos has won the coveted UEFA Champions League title five times — four times with Real Madrid and once with FC Bayern Munich. The German midfielder, regarded as one of the best in contemporary times, is also a FIFA World Cup winner (Germany won the trophy in 2014). In addition, he has won three La Liga crowns with Real Madrid (in 2016-17, 2019-20 and 2021-22).
In more than 700 appearances throughout his club football career so far, Kroos has scored 67 goals. He has also played over 100 matches for the German national team, during which time he has scored 17 goals for his nation. The midfielder was named the German Footballer of the Year in 2018 and also featured in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in 2014.
Frenkie De Jong
Annual salary in 2023: USD 17.9 million
Frenkie de Jong was a part of the Ajax team that had its breakthrough season in 2018-19 under its then-manager Erik Ten Hag. The Dutch side won the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup, besides qualifying for the UEFA Champions League semi-finals after 22 years. De Jong was at the heart of that Ajax side, and with the end of the 2018-19 season, the Dutch started drawing attention from several juggernauts of European football. Eventually, the summer transfer window of 2019-20 saw him join FC Barcelona.
In the next few seasons, the Dutch midfielder shaped up to become one of the pillars of the Barcelona squad that went through episodes of turbulence, especially with Lionel Messi leaving the club in 2021. De Jong has found the back of the net on 16 occasions to date in nearly 200 appearances in the famous red-and-blue stripes. He has won every major club football tournament in Spain — the La Liga (in 2022-23), Copa del Rey (in 2020-21) and the Supercopa de Espana (in 2022-23).
Jude Bellingham
Annual salary in 2023: USD 16.4 million
Real Madrid has a habit of going big in the summer transfer window for any player who draws the attention of the masses with his performance in the previous season. David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Thibaut Courtois are just a few of the many who come on this list. Following this tradition, the Galacticos went overboard in the summer transfer window of 2023-24 with the signing of Jude Bellingham.
The young English midfielder was a key member of the Borussia Dortmund side that finished as the runners-up in the 2022-23 Bundesliga. Real Madrid spent around USD 112 million to sign Bellingham from Dortmund on a contract which will run for six years.
With 16 goals so far, in the 2023-24 season across all competitions, the young Briton truly has lived up to his price tag. Many fans have started looking at Bellingham as an asset of the Madrid-based club, and a flag-bearer of the side in the years to come. The midfielder, still in his early 20s, is worthy of his place in the exclusive club of the highest-paid football players in La Liga.
Koke
Annual salary in 2023: USD 12 million
A familiar sight in any Atletico Madrid game is Jorge Resurreccion Merodio, popularly known as Koke, playing in the red-and-white stripes. The Spanish midfielder, who graduated from the Madrid-based club’s academy, is considered to be a club legend by many of its followers. He made his debut for Atletico Madrid’s first team in 2009 and has played a club record of over 550 competitive matches since then.
Koke was a pivotal figure in the Atletico Madrid side that won the 2013-14 and the 2020-21 La Liga titles. In addition, he has won two UEFA Europa League trophies (in 2011-12 and 2017-18) and two UEFA Super Cups (in 2012 and 2018). The Spanish footballer also featured in two UEFA Champions League finals (in 2013-14 and 2015-16); however, his side lost to city rivals Real Madrid on both occasions.
Now the captain of Atletico Madrid, Koke has had a long international career with the Spanish national team as well. For Spain, he has played in three FIFA World Cups and two UEFA Euros.
Luka Modric
Annual salary in 2023: USD 11 million
Arguably the greatest Croatian footballer of all time, Luka Modric is perhaps one of the best midfielders of all time. He has won several accolades with the Real Madrid side, including five UEFA Champions League titles (in 2013-14, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2021-22), four UEFA Super Cup trophies (in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2022), five FIFA Club World Cups (in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022) and three La Liga crowns (in 2016-17, 2019-20 and 2021-22), among several others.
Modric broke into the pantheon of greats owing to his performances in the 2017-18 season for Real Madrid and in the 2018 FIFA World Cup for the Croatian national team (he won the Golden Ball award for being the player of the tournament). The footballing fraternity honoured his legendary achievements as well by awarding him the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual honour in the sport, in 2018. In the process, the Croatian footballer also became the first player other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the award since 2007.
Vinicius Jr
Annual salary in 2023: USD 11 million
One of the brightest prodigies of world football, Vinicius Jr is also among the finest players in the modern era. The young Brazilian winger made his entry into the world of professional football holding the hands of Rio de Janeiro-based club Flamengo in 2017. However, Real Madrid showed interest in the then-teenager, and in 2018, Vinicius Jr moved to Spain to continue his career in Madrid.
Within a few years, the Brazilian rapidly climbed up the ladder of football to become one of Real Madrid’s key players. He was instrumental in the Galacticos (as the Real Madrid side is called by fans) winning the 2021-22 La Liga title. In addition, Vinicius Jr scored the winning goal in Real Madrid’s 2022 UEFA Champions League final victory against Liverpool FC.
The youngster has featured in over 230 games for Real Madrid to date, during which time he has found the back of the net 65 times. His annual salary finds a place in the list of the highest payouts in La Liga.
Jan Oblak
Annual salary in 2023: USD 10 million
Spotting a shot-stopper amidst a list filled with outfield players always offers a nice change of pace. And who better to fill this gap than Jan Oblak, the captain of the Slovenian national team who ranks among the finest goalkeepers of his generation? The Atletico Madrid goalkeeper began his career with Portuguese club Benfica at the tender age of 17 and was a part of the team that won the Portuguese domestic treble in the 2013-14 season.
Following his impressive performances in Portugal, Atletico Madrid bought him in 2014, and Oblak has been with the Spanish outfit ever since. In over 400 appearances for the Madrid-based club across all competitions to date, he has won four trophies (including the La Liga title in 2020-21). The Slovenian was also nominated for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award in 2017 and 2018 for his consistent performances between the poles.
Ilkay Gundogan
Annual salary in 2023: USD 9.8 million
In the summer of 2023, German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan led Manchester City to a historic treble, which comprises the Premier League, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League titles. With their first UEFA Champions League win, Manchester City joined their neighbours Manchester United in being the only clubs to win this coveted treble.
Soon after, Gundogan decided to part ways with the newly-crowned champions of Europe to join Spanish side FC Barcelona in the 2023-24 summer transfer window. The departure of veteran midfielder Sergio Busquets posed an imminent threat to Xavi, the club’s manager, about the stability of the side. Gundogan was seen by fans as that missing piece of the puzzle.
The German has had a positive influence on FC Barcelona in the 2023-24 season to date. He scored his first goal for the La Liga outfit against Real Madrid on 28 October, thereby becoming the oldest player after Sergio Aguero to score a goal for FC Barcelona in an El Clasico fixture (aged 33 years and four days).
David Alaba
Annual salary in 2023: USD 9 million
One of the most popular defenders in the world, David Alaba is best known for his time with the German side FC Bayern Munich. The captain of the Austrian national team featured in over 400 matches for the Munich-based outfit and has won numerous silverware with them, including 10 Bundesliga crowns, two UEFA Champions League titles (in 2012-13 and 2019-20), two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups (both in 2013 and 2020).
Alaba arrived at Real Madrid in 2021 with a rich portfolio of trophies. He had an instant impact at the club, helping them lift the Supercopa de Espana, La Liga and UEFA Champions League in his debut season (2021-22). With the Austrian in the defensive line, fans never felt the absence of their long-standing centre-back and captain Sergio Ramos. Alaba rightfully holds his place among the highest-paid players in La Liga.
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(Hero Image Credits: Courtesy Robert Lewandowski/Instagram and Luka Modric/Instagram; Featured Image Credits: Courtesy Robert Lewandowski/Instagram)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– Who is the highest-paid footballer in La Liga in the 2023-24 season?
FC Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski is the highest-paid footballer in La Liga in the 2023-24 season.
– How much is Frenkie de Jong’s salary in La Liga in the 2023-24 season?
According to reports, Frenkie de Jong’s annual salary stands at around USD 17.9 million.
