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Serie A has quickly become one of the most entertaining leagues of European football. After a relatively barren spell in the last decade, the Italian top-flight has once again begun to attract some of the most blockbuster names in the world — none more significant than Juventus' acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese superstar is undoubtedly one of the biggest 'pulls' in recent times after he chose to swap Madrid for Turin in 2018. The Italian champions also won the battle to sign one of the most in-demand players at the time, Matthijs de Ligt, a year after Ronaldo arrived.
Other Italian clubs such as the likes of Inter Milan and Napoli have spent large sums of money to lure talented players from Europe such as Romelu Lukaku and Victor Osimhen to the Serie A in the last few seasons. Both strikers were club-record purchases for the Nerazzurri and Partenopei.
Given the inflation of the market and transfer fees, many players have been awarded contracts which offer them an extraordinary amount of money as well. Juventus, in particular, dominate the list of the highest earners in Italy due to their financial muscle and nearly guaranteed domestic success.
Here, we take a look at the ten highest salaries in the Italian top-flight.
[Note: All estimated wages have been sourced from Football Italia and Futballnews.com. Due to the lack of clarity over either Arthur or Miralem Pjanic's exact salaries after their recent transfers, neither will be included in this list.]
#10 Edin Dzeko | AS Roma | €180,000-a-week
Former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko kicks off this list with the tenth highest salary in Italy. The Roma forward has been an incredible signing for the capital club, scoring a barrage of goals and providing countless moments of magic for Paulo Fonseca's men. 34-year-old Dzeko has managed 19 goals and eight assists across all competitions for Roma this year, topping the capital club's scoring charts in the process.
The Bosnian joined Roma permanently in 2016 and reportedly makes €180k-a-week in Serie A.
#9 Leonardo Bonucci | Juventus | €200,000-a-week
Juventus' captain for most of the season due to Giorgio Chiellini's injury woes, returning hero Leonardo Bonucci is the tenth highest-earner in Italy. The centre-half took a massive pay cut to rejoin the Bianconeri from AC Milan in the hope of winning the UEFA Champions League with the Italian champions, particularly after Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at the club. The 33-year-old quickly ditched his adventure in Milan to move to his old stomping ground.
Bonucci reportedly rakes in a weekly wage of €200k at Juventus.
#8 Kalidou Koulibaly, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Douglas Costa, Sami Khedira | €214,000-a-week
Two defensive stalwarts for their respective clubs, Kalidou Koulibaly and Gigi Donnarumma come in as the eighth-highest earners in Italy. The Senegalese centre-half and Italian goalkeeper are both pivotal to Napoli and AC Milan, and both have been heavily tipped for big-money transfers in recent times.
The frighteningly quick Bianconeri winger Douglas Costa failed to manage even a thousand minutes of football across all competitions for Juventus, due to which Andrea Pirlo and co are reportedly looking to offload him this summer. The same goes for German midfielder Sami Khedira, who is likely to depart from Italy ahead of the upcoming season.
The former Real Madrid man is on a hefty salary but has barely featured for Juventus over the last two seasons. Both Costa and Khedira, additionally, have suffered from a string of injury-laden months as well.
All four of Costa, Khedira, Donnaruma, and Koulibaly are said to be on wages of €214k-a-week in the Serie A.
Also read: 5 players who destroyed their parent clubs when on loan
#7 Aaron Ramsey | Juventus | €250,000-a-week
Former Arsenal ace Aaron Ramsey moved to the Italian champions on a free transfer ahead of the 2019/20 season. Although he hasn't fully settled into life as a Bianconeri player as of yet, the Welshman is a devastating player in full flow, ghosting in and out of the opposition box with ease due to his surreal reading of the game and timing of runs. The 29-year-old has just three goals to show for in 24 Serie A appearances, of which he has started only 11.
Ramsey is one of the highest-paid British players in the world, taking home a salary of €250,000 per week at the Allianz Stadium.
#6 Adrien Rabiot | Juventus | €250,000-a-week
Another one of Juventus' lengthy list of high-profile free transfers, French midfielder Adrien Rabiot moved to Turin from Paris Saint-Germain ahead of this season. The towering central midfielder has been in fine form particularly since the restart of football. He is likely to play an essential role in Pirlo's new-look Juventus midfield in the 2020/21 campaign. Rabiot has the power and elegance to dominate midfields, as he has shown in the second half of the season at Juventus.
Rabiot is reportedly on a salary of €250k-a-week at his new club, and is entitled to an additional €2m-a-year as bonuses.
#5 Paulo Dybala | Juvenus | €250,000-a-week
Juventus' crown jewel in attack, Paulo Dybala, has been the subject of immense transfer speculation over the last season or two. The Argentine was reportedly offered to other clubs such as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur last summer but ended up staying at the club — a decision that helped Juve significantly. The 26-year-old scored 11 goals and set up a further six in just 25 starts for Juve in Serie A.
The Serie A 2019/20 MVP is said to be on a deal which sees him earn €250k-a-week at Juventus, although he is on a slightly higher yearly wage than Ramsey and Rabiot. La Joya is rumoured to be in line for a pay rise ahead of next year.
#4 Gonzalo Higuain | Juventus | €265,000-a-week
Juventus' second-most expensive signing in their history, Gonzalo Higuain was purchased by the club in the wake of Paul Pogba's then-world record departure from Italy. The Italian champions paid a staggering €90m for the services of the then-Napoli striker. After two superb seasons in Turin, Higuain's career took a hit due to Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival and is likely to depart from Juventus this summer.
The Argentine earns a whopping €265k-a-week at the Allianz Stadium, which is one of the reasons that Juve want to ship him off.
Also read: Most expensive footballers in the world in each position
#3 Romelu Lukaku | Inter Milan | €265,000-a-week
Former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku completed a move to Inter last summer after falling out of favour under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Belgian has enjoyed a surreal debut campaign in Milan, scoring a staggering 33 goals across all competitions for the Nerazzurri. The 27-year-old is just one goal away from levelling the best-ever debut season by an Inter player and a goal in the UEL final will level his tally with that of Ronaldo Nazario, who scored 34 in his debut campaign.
The in-form Belgian centre-forward is said to be on a deal worth €265k-a-week at San Siro, making him the third-highest earner in Serie A. Inter also owe him a further €1.5m per year as part of bonuses as well.
#2 Matthijs de Ligt | Juventus | €300,000-a-week
Matthijs de Ligt was one of the most in-demand players in the world last year after a spectacular UCL campaign with Ajax. The young Dutchman showed a sense of maturity and ability that belied his age, and was tipped to go on and become one of the greatest modern defenders in the game. De Ligt is a remarkably talented ball player and is an immense threat from set-pieces as well. The 21-year-old also appears to be a born leader every time he takes to the pitch, and is not afraid of being vocal on the pitch amongst more senior players as well.
Naturally, for a player who was purchased for an astonishing fee, he earns a lot of money. De Ligt was purchased for a price of €85.5m by Juventus and is on a salary of €300k-a-week. The Dutch defender also earns a further €4m in bonuses per year.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus | €1,110,000-a-week
There was no other player who was expected to top this list other than Cristiano Ronaldo, was there? Juventus' magnificent centre-forward tops this list by a simply astounding margin. Ronaldo has been Juve's go-to man on both the domestic as well as continental fronts in both his seasons in Serie A. This year, in particular, the former Manchester United great has been at his devastating best, scoring a whopping 37 goals in all competitions for the Bianconeri.
The Portuguese was purchased by Juventus in the summer of 2018 for an eye-watering fee of €117m. They did so at the age of 33, reiterating the faith that the Bianconeri's board placed in him. Ronaldo reportedly takes home a salary of €1,110,000-a-week at the Allianz Stadium.
Also read: 5 Greatest career achievements of Cristiano Ronaldo
