30 Highest-Paid Players in the 2024/25 Champions League [Ranked]

The biggest competition in European football is back with a new format as the Champions League makes its long awaited return to our screens. Real Madrid made it a record extending 15 successes last time out, overcoming Borussia Dortmund in the final at Wembley and taking home all the riches that come with it.

Speaking of riches, the top of Europe’s elite competition is filled with some of the wealthiest clubs in the game. Therefore, there are plenty of players who will be making a pretty penny every time they step under the floodlights and hear that famous anthem. Thanks to figures from Capology, via FBref, fans can see who the 30 highest-paid players competing in this term’s tournament are.

Highest-Paid Champions League Players (30-21)

Rank
Player
Club
Salary

21.
Jack Grealish
Manchester City
£300,000

22.
Leon Goretzka
Bayern Munich
£292,365

23.
Kai Havertz
Arsenal
£280,000

24.
Kingsley Coman
Bayern Munich
£276,123

25.
Marquinhos
Paris Saint-Germain
£272,874

=26.
Federico Valverde
Real Madrid
£270,763

=26.
Lautaro Martinez
Inter Milan
£270,763

28.
Milan Skriniar
Paris Saint-Germain
£265,727

29.
Gabriel Jesus
Arsenal
£265,000

30.
John Stones
Manchester City
£250,000

The bottom third of the list kicks off with two former teammates in John Stones and Gabriel Jesus, who earn in the region of a quarter of a million pounds every week. It’s another set of ex-colleagues who appear next, as Milan Skriniar and Lautaro Martinez take 27th and 28th respectively. The Argentine striker is level with Uruguayan Federico Valverde.

Marquinhos falls just shy of the £275k-per-week mark, but former Champions League winning goalscorer Kingsley Coman just eclipses said total. Kai Havertz sits just behind Leon Goretzka, despite the fact that the German was surplus to requirements in the summer at Bayern Munich after a massive decrease in value last year. Jack Grealish rounds out the bottom as the first player to earn in excess of £300,000.

20-11

Highest-Paid Champions League Players (20-11)

Rank
Player
Club
Salary

=11.
Jude Bellingham
Real Madrid
£338,331

=11.
Vinicius Junior
Real Madrid
£338,331

=11.
Jan Oblak
Atletico Madrid
£338,331

14.
Thomas Muller
Bayern Munich
£332,971

=15.
Leroy Sane
Bayern Munich
£324,850

=15.
Ousmane Dembele
Paris Saint-Germain

17.
Joshua Kimmich
Bayern Munich
£316,729

18.
Lucas Hernandez
Paris Saint-Germain
£308,608

19.
Serge Gnabry
Bayern Munich
£306,496

20.
Bernardo Silva
Manchester City
£300,000

Bernardo Silva is the first name on the second portion of our list, tying with teammate Grealish on £300,000-per-week. This is followed by some back and forth between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain stars, as Serge Gnabry and Joshua Kimmich find themselves next to Lucas Hernandez and Ousmane Dembele.

Leroy Sane and Thomas Muller are among the highest-earners in the Bundesliga, but this isn’t enough to crack into the top 10 of Europe’s elite. Meanwhile, Madrid hosts the 11th, 12th and 13th positions as Ballon d’Or contenders Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr pip cross-city rival Jan Oblak.

10Manuel Neuer

£341,093-per-week

Despite being a veteran of the game at this point in his career, Manuel Neuer is showing no signs of taking a massive pay cut anytime soon as the iconic sweeper keeper takes his place inside the top 10. Although the German has now called time on his international career with Die Mannschaft, he seems set to continue his command of his position at club level.

Earning just south of £350k p/w, the years of being the best goalkeeper in the world have clearly paid off for Neuer, whose legacy has in no doubt played a small part in his current earnings.

9Mohamed Salah

£350,000-per-week

Rumours have been swirling regarding Mohamed Salah’s future at Liverpool, with the most recent update suggesting that he is desperate to extend his stay at the club. If that’s the case, the Egyptian could be rewarded with a small bump in his pay packet. Until then, he will have to settle for just £350,000-per-week.

Even as he enters his thirties, Salah remains one of the biggest goalscoring threats in European football. He has flourished in the early stages under Arne Slot and will be hoping to do so in the Champions League when the Reds’ return campaign in the competition kicks off.

8Dusan Vlahovic

£360,909-per-week

Despite being one of the Champions League’s highest earners this season, the competition is one that has not served Dusan Vlahovic well in the past. The Serbian striker has found the back of the net just twice in his two seasons playing among Europe’s elite.

Juventus make their return to the tournament for the first time since 2022 this season, and will be needing their talisman to take his domestic form into Europe if they are to have any chance of staging a shock run to the silverware. Even then, it may not be enough, and Vlahovic may have to rediscover the potency that made him famous while at Fiorentina.

7David Alaba

£365,456-per-week

David Alaba cruelly missed out on playing any part in the latter stages of Los Blancos’ Champions League triumph last season after being one of numerous players to suffer an ACL injury. A return to the team is not expected until November at the earliest, and if his fitness progression faces anymore obstacles, the possibility of him missing the group phase could become a real one.

Still one of the best defenders on his day when available, the Austrian will be keen to get back on the pitch as soon as possible to showcase that he is still worth the lofty £365k-per-week deal he is on at the Bernabeu.

6Erling Haaland

£375,000-per-week

Based on current form, there are very few people who justify their wages quite like Erling Haaland. Despite scoring 27 Premier League goals last season, the incredibly high expectations placed on the Norwegian meant that it was labeled as a quiet term for him. He has since responded with nine goals in his opening four Premier League games in the 2024/25 term.

Having won the Champions League in his first season at the Etihad, Haaland will be eager to ensure that his lethal nature in front of goal domestically continues in his midweek adventures as City look to regain their crown. But, despite being one of the Premier League’s highest earners, he falls to sixth compared to his European counterparts.

5Kevin De Bruyne

£400,000-per-week

Despite the Premier League being the most lucrative league in the world, Kevin De Bruyne’s wages are only enough for him to take up fifth among the rest of Europe. The Belgian star has turned himself into one of the greatest playmakers in the modern era and getting his hands on the big-eared trophy in 2023 prevented him from becoming one of the best players to never win the competition.

Even in his advancing age, De Bruyne still remains a force of nature. However long he has left at Manchester City, it is bound to be filled with plenty of assists, both domestically and in European football.

4Harry Kane

£406,063-per-week

Harry Kane’s much publicised move to Germany to win trophies has not exactly panned out the way the England captain would have expected it to. The unfathomable happened during the frontman’s first season at the Allianz, as the giants walked away from the 2023/24 season empty-handed.

Despite that, England’s highest-paid footballer more than proved his worth in a record-breaking year for himself, and despite the club not being up to scratch over the last 12 months, they still found themselves moments away from a Champions League final, if not for Joselu’s incredible late turnaround. With a new structure in place, there will be hope of pushing a little further.

3Kylian Mbappe

£507,578-per-week

From one world-class striker who has failed to win the Champions League to another. It was only a matter of time before Kylian Mbappe made the inevitable switch to Real Madrid. In doing so, he has made the number one team in Europe even stronger, and must have hopes of getting his hands on the title in the not so distant future.

The Frenchman actually took a drastic pay cut in order to secure his much anticipated move. As a result, he has dropped from being the highest-earner by some margin down to third, with two players from his biggest rivals sitting pretty above him.

2Robert Lewandowski

£541,363-per-week

Barcelona’s financial issues can arguably be summarised by the fact that, combined, they spend over £1 million weekly on their two biggest earners. In the case of Robert Lewandowski, it can be argued that he would be worth the crazy amount he earns today in his prime, as the Polish superstar was at the top of the tree in terms of being an out-and-out number nine.

His impact in his latter years is waning slightly, but the 36-year-old has still started the La Liga campaign on fire with six goal contributions in five games. Whether it lasts as the demands of Europe kick in remains to be seen.

1Frenkie De Jong

£609,094-per-week

Earning more than £600,000-per-week, it is no wonder why Barcelona have been open to selling Frenkie de Jong in recent years. It is also no wonder why the Dutchman has been overly fussed about leaving either, as doing so would force him to lose a substantial amount of his chart-topping salary.

De Jong is a great midfield option for the Camp Nou outfit, but ever since his high-profile move from Ajax, he has done little to justify the extreme amount that he puts away. When he returns from the injury that kept him out of Euro 2024, he will need to do a fair amount to even earn his way back into the first team picture.

Highest-Paid Champions League Players (10-1)

Rank
Player
Club
Salary

1.
Frenkie de Jong
Barcelona
£609,094

2.
Robert Lewandowski
Barcelona
£541,363

3.
Kylian Mbappe
Real Madrid
£507,578

4.
Harry Kane
Bayern Munich
£406,063

5.
Kevin De Bruyne
Manchester City
£400,000

6.
Erling Haaland
Manchester City
£375,000

7.
David Alaba
Real Madrid
£365,456

8.
Dusan Vlahovic
Juventus
£360,909

9.
Mohamed Salah
Liverpool
£350,000

10.
Manuel Neuer
Bayern Munich
£341,093