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La-Liga is home to some of the best footballers in the world. Players like Lionel Messi, Eden Hazard, and Luis Suarez all recieve high weekly-wages through their lucrative contracts with Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid respectively.
Only these three clubs can afford to spend millions on players and their wages in the Spanish top-flight. So it makes sense that players from these clubs take up more-than-half of the spots in the league's top-100 earners' list.
But COVID-19 has forced clubs to reduce their wage bills. Barcelona players had even agreed to a massive pay cut in April. Here, we will take a look at the weekly wages of the players, as per their most recent contacts irrespective of the pay cut, if any.
With that being said, let us now take a look at the 10 highest-paid players in La Liga currently.
(Note: The weekly wages are as reported by Sillyseason and Sportekz, the actual wages could vary as these figures are only an estimate taken from various sources)
#10 Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid) - £225,295 per week
Joao Felix is one of the most exciting prospects in European football at the moment. Despite turning just 21 this November the Portuguese forward is one of the first names on the team sheet for Diego Simeone.
In the current season, Atletico Madrid are currently first in La Liga standings and Felix has contributed to eight goals so far.
Though we might expect a much greater attacking threat from a player earning a handsome sum of £225,295 a week, he definitely has a lot of potential. If given proper time and training he can become one of the best forwards in the game.
#9 Koke (Atletico Madrid) - £256,837 per week
Though Atletico Madrid is not a club that comes to mind when talking about the big spenders in the transfer market, in recent years, they have started to pour in money to bring in reinforcements and to hold on to their top players as well.
Koke, the captain for the Rojiblancos joins his teammate Felix in this list with his £ 256,837 per week earning from his duties as a midfielder for the Captial club.
He is not usually that much involved in creating chances or goal-scoring opportunities per se, but his commanding presence in the middle of the park has been crucial for their early title charge in La Liga this term.
#8 Sergio Busquets (FC Barcelona) - £258,000 per week
The first Barcelona player to feature in our list in veteran midfielder Sergio Busquets. The 32-year-old has been with the Catalans since 2005 and established himself as one of the greatest defensive midfielders of all-time in his spell at the Camp Nou.
Under his current contract with the club, which runs out in the summer of 2023, he takes home £258,000 per week. Though there were doubts over his future at the club under new manager Ronaldo Koeman at the beginning of the season, he has now been an integral part of their team in the 2020-21 campaign.
He has played 17 of the 18 matches in La Liga, starting 14 of those.
#7 Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid) - £270,354 per week
The third of the 4 Atletico Madrid players on our list, Saul Niguez reportedly earns £270,354 a week under his contract with the club. The player had agreed to a long-term deal with the club, which keeps him at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium until 2026.
The player has fallen down the pecking order recently and has only featured 12 times this term. He has also been linked with a move to Manchester United but it seems, with his long-term commitment to Los Rojiblancos he will remain at the club, at least for the foreseeable future.
Also See: Top 10 football players with the most fans in the world
#6 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) - £312,000 per week
The first Real Madrid player to make an appearance in our list is their captain Sergio Ramos. The defender has been a mainstay for them in their recent success in the Champions League and more recently in La Liga last season.
He reportedly earns £312,000 a week for his services and given the kind of performances he delivers for them week in and week out, we can say it's money well spent.
His contract also expires this July and as things stand, he is free to speak with other clubs and even secure a move as a free-signing if things do not work out. The contract renewal talks with Los Blancos have come to a standstill.
#5 Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) - £342,449 per week
Quite surprisingly, Atletico Madrid have as many as four players on this list, with goalkeeper Jan Oblak being the highest-paid player on their payroll. Despite a hefty £342,449 in weekly wages, the player is not the highest-paid goalkeeper in the world.
The Slovenian shot-stopper has been one of the most consistent players in the La Liga for the last five seasons and has won the prestigious Zamora Trophy four times since the 2015-16 campaign.
#4 Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona) - £345,000 per week
Former Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann makes it into our list. It is understood that he took a pay cut to secure a move to the Camp Nou last summer.
The Frenchman has not lived up to his hefty price tag and has barely made an impact in the final third for the Blaugrana. This season too, he has had a slow start and has just five goals to his name in 17 La Liga appearances.
Nonetheless, every week he takes home £345,000 and in times of pay cuts when Barcelona had to let go of players like Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal, and Semedo to manage their wage bill having his high salary in the ranks coup upset some people at the Camp Nou.
Also See: 5 most supported football clubs in the world
#3 Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) - £354,000 per week
The second-youngest player in our list, Frenkie de Jong earns £354,000 in weekly wages. The midfielder is still 23-years-old and has a lot of potential to become one of the best players in his position.
Since the arrival of Dutch manager Ronald Koeman, he has been one of the first names on the teamsheet for the Catalan giants and has started in 17 of the 18 games so far.
#2 Eden Hazard (Real Madrid) - £400,000 per week
Real Madrid's second and final squad member in our list is winger Eden Hazard. The former Chelsea star has not had a great start to his career with the capital club, with recurring injuries keeping him out of action for the better part of last season.
He was one of the biggest signings made by Los Blancos in recent years, who offered almost twice the amount of his weekly wages at Chelsea to lure him to move from the Premier League to La Liga.
Currently, he earns £400,000 per week and though he had nothing to show for in his first season at the club on the pitch, he did add a La Liga trophy to his collection.
#1 Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) - £1,224,000 per week
Unsurprisingly, Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi is the highest-paid player in the La Liga currently. The 33-year-old came close to leaving his boyhood club earlier this season but has now agreed to stay with them, at least till the end of the season.
The left-footed maestro is the only football player to be earning a seven-digit weekly wage and currently nets £1,224,000 per week. Though Barca players have agreed to pay cuts in December, all the agreements are player-specific and not revealed to the media.
Despite a slow start to the 2020-21 campaign, he now leads the scoring charts in La Liga with 11 goals from 17 league appearances.
It seems impossible that any other player would be offered such a lucrative deal by any club in the future, no matter how deep the club's pocket might be.
Also See: Top 10 quotes on Lionel Messi
