Top 10 Highest Paid Footballers in the World
Players are crucial to a club's success. Whilst a manager might be able to instruct players on what to do, ultimately the responsibility lies with them out on the field. The actions they take can literally decide whether a team succeeds as a whole, or fails miserably.
So, when a great player becomes available, clubs fight tooth-and-nail to ensure that they can recruit them. This often means that a bidding war takes place, not just over transfer fees upfront, but also over the player's wages. Two clubs can agree to a transfer, but if the player refuses his personal contract, the deal falls through.
As a result, clubs have become more accustomed to offering a player astronomical wages to persuade them to join their side over another. It's not just the transfer market that's inflated nowadays; player's wages are, too, and they're only set to increase.
With that said, just how much are some of the top footballers in the world paid to play for their clubs? Bear in mind that some of the players on this list may have recently signed a new contract, or perhaps have switched from one club to another after being offered exorbitant wages. Either way, these figures have to be seen to be believed.
Disclaimer: All figures are procured from French site L'Equipe, who carry out an annual report on the highest paid players from around the world. These figures are presented in the Euro currency, as stated on the site, to avoid conversion errors. Lastly, the amount specified is how much a player earns before tax per-month.
Also see : Manchester Transfer News, Chelsea Transfer News, Gold Cup Standings
#10 Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) - €1,600,000/Month
Mesut Ozil is a 30-year-old attacking midfielder who currently plays for Arsenal in the Premier League. He also represented Germany's national team until his recent retirement from international football following the World Cup.
Ozil was already being paid a significant amount when he was with Real Madrid, which essentially forced Arsenal to offer him more to convince him to leave Spain and come to London. Clearly, what was offered was enough and he joined the Gunners in September 2013 for a fee of around £42m.
With Ozil earning €1,600,000 per month, this means that his weekly salary is around €400,000, which is simply staggering. It's his wages that have caused Arsenal fans to target him with so much abuse when he plays poorly, as they don't feel like he works hard enough for the amount he gets paid.