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Players within La Liga earn strikingly as compared to the rest of Europe's top five leagues. The presence of high-profile clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid means top-flight football in Spain houses big-money deals.
The departure of Leo Messi and Sergio Ramos to PSG is certain to cost La Liga a bit of a luster but nonetheless, there is still plenty of firepower left. Gareth Bale's return from Spurs and Griezmann's return to Atletico Madrid, exciting moments within La Liga just pile up.
After four match days, we have Real Madrid at the top of the table with Valencia right on their tail with an equal number of points (10) and goal difference (7). Atletico Madrid, also with 10 points, maintain third spot only due to lower GD.
Without further ado, in this article let's take a look at the top-earning players within Spain's top-tier league, La Liga.
Top 10 highest paid La Liga players in 2021
Note: The information has been sourced from various websites. The actual salary might vary a little bit.
#10 Koke (Atletico Madrid) — £257,000/Week
The captain of Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid, Koke, is the 10th highest paid footballer within La Liga. He has been by Rojiblancos' side throughout their rise to become one of the strongest teams in Europe.
He faced immense competition from his compatriots from Real Madrid and Barcelona for a spot in the national team. But Koke established himself as one of the finest midfielders of the game.
Barcelona and Spain's legend Xavi even called Koke his successor. He has won 2 x La Liga, 1 x Copa del Rey, 1 x Spanish Super Cup, 2 x UEFA Europa League and 2 x UEFA Super Cup.
Koke was also the main cog in Atletico Madrid's UEFA Champions League final appearances in 2014 and 2016. The only downside of the same was that he, along with his team, faced loss at the hands of bitter rivals Real Madrid.
#9 Marcelo (Real Madrid) — £266,000/Week
Marcelo rightfully finds a place within the top 10 highest played La Liga players' list. The Brazilian fullback is considered one of the best in his position. There aren't many in the game who could make dangerous overlaps as Marcelo does.
Marcelo came as a blessing to the La Liga giants who were looking for a perfect replacement for their star player Roberto Carlos. The then 19-year-old Marcelo arrived in the Spanish capital from Fluminense. By the time Galacticos sealed the deal, Marcelo was wanted by numerous top clubs in Europe.
As the years went by, Marcelo even overcame his countryman and predecessor Roberto Carlos in almost every department. A constant face in the FIFPro and UEFA Team of the year, Marcelo evolved to be one of the best in the world of football.
#8 Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) — £271,000/Week
Jan Oblak's rise as one of the best goalkeepers in the business happened within a very short period of time. While the world was busy adapting from Iker and Buffon to Neuer, there came the Slovenian shot-stopper out of the blue to grab all the limelight.
Atletico Madrid signed Jan Oblak in 2014 for €16 million (a record for being the most-expensive goalkeeper in La Liga), in an attempt to fill the void left by Thibaut Courtois. However, the Slovenian shot-stopper denied the claims and revealed that he is not at the club to replace anyone. He is there as a completely new player and to create a mark of his own.
Oblak has entered his 8th season with Atletico Madrid and has won an impressive five La Liga Zamora Trophy. He has raised the bar for his competitors and has had direct involvement in Atletico Madrid's recent successes.
#7 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) — £294,000/Week
The Frenchman has been carrying the responsibility of scoring for Real Madrid ever since their machine Cristiano Ronaldo left the club. And undoubtedly Karim Benzema has been doing a fine job.
His performance even urged France to discard the ban imposed on him following the Mathieu Valbuena scandal and call him back to the French side. The decision proved to be the right one as he ended up as the joint second most (four) goal getter of the EURO 2020 tournament.
At the moment, Karima Benzema has also taken up the responsibility of leading Blancos in the absence of the club's official captain Marcelo. The Santiago Bernabeu faithful have seen Benzema grow from a youngster who arrived from Lyon to a lethal power under Zidane. Now he has become a prolific goalscorer in La Liga under Ancelotti.
In return for his service, Real Madrid pays its number 9 a salary of £294,000/Week.
#6 Luka Modric (Real Madrid) — £294,000/Week
Luka Modric's fame spreads far and beyond just being the player to end the Ronaldo-Messi Ballon d'Or duopoly. Or leading the Croatian team to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final.
The little magician has stunned the world with his brilliance, at times uncountable. He was considered one of the most flop signings by Madrid back in 2012. But later, Modric emerged to be lauded as not just one of the best Madrid players ever but that of the world as well.
He faced heavy competition from veterans Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira in the defensive midfield position and Mesut Ozil in an offensive role. Modric had to wait until the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti to show the world what he was made of. Under the Italian manager, the Croatian international flourished and remains one of the most vital pieces of Madrid's puzzle.
#5 Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) — £329,000/Week
Toni Kroos arrived in the Spanish capital from Bayern Munich as part of a swap deal that included Xabi Alonso moving the other way.
While the Madridistas were glum about having to lose their veteran in the form of Xabi Alonso, Toni Kroos waited patiently to earn the crowd's love. His wait was fruitful as the German international started off by creating a sudden impact and creating moments of magic at the heart of the midfield.
Kroos, combined with Luka Modric and Casemiro, was hailed as one of the best midfield trios of all time. At times, they even made Barcelona's deadly trio of Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets look weaker.
Toni Kroos continues to enjoy his time with Real Madrid and earns £329,000/Week in terms of wages.
#4 Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) — £345,000/Week
Griezmann has been the talk of the town recently for all the wrong reasons. The French international made a shocking move to Barcelona in 2019 and has now returned to the Wanda Metropolitano on a one-year deal.
The reception wasn't a friendly one from the fans but nevertheless, Griezmann seems to be happy regarding his comeback. The future of Le Petit Prince lies unknown but however, it has been revealed that Griezmann would be earning as much as he did at Barcelona.
The same makes the 2018 World Cup winner one of the highest paid players within the league. Antoine Griezmann will look to make up for the lost time he spent with Barcelona and bounce back in spectacular fashion.
#3 Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) — £354,000/Week
A key member of the 2019 Ajax team that shook the world, Frenkie de Jong, is the third most paid player in La Liga.
There was no doubt about Ajax's super talented starlets leaving the club for bigger ones and more intense challenges in the subsequent season. One such move resulted in Frenkie de Jong joining the Catalan giants for a mammoth fee.
Ever since the club's captain and prolific striker Lionel Messi left for PSG in a shocking manner, the responsibility of finding the net for Blaugrana has fallen upon Frenkie de Jong's shoulders.
The Dutch international's expertise lies in midfield and he is one of the best playmakers within the league. Frenkie de Jong exhibits a high level of maturity even at such a young age. Despite being in a serious debt, Barcelona offers Frenkie with a weekly wage of £354,000.
#2 Eden Hazard (Real Madrid) — £416,000/Week
Even though Eden Hazard is a shadow self of his Chelsea days at the moment, the Belgian's market value makes him one of the top earning players within the league.
Hazard and Real Madrid have been jointly used in a sentence during almost every transfer season for the past 3-4 years. Every club has that one player who is unable to live up to the expectation or the price tag. Unfortunately for Real Madrid, Eden Hazard is that player.
The former Chelsea prodigy was signed by the Galacticos for a whopping €100 million. However, Hazard ended up being too costly for Real Madrid as he has featured for only 47 matches in all competitions since 2019.
Injury woes and a lack of permanent spot within the team haunt Hazard till date. Nevertheless, wearing the number 7 shirt adds a lot of pressure upon the forward and somehow the fans still back their marquee player.
#1 Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) — £600,000/Week
Gareth Bale is one of the most-paid footballers in the world. A £600,000/Week makes him the highest earning player in La Liga. The Welsh has had a topsy-turvy tenure with Real Madrid so far.
Bale helped Real Madrid win the Copa del Rey in what was his debut season itself. He was also a key in La Decima win for the club. From there, he went on to become an integral part of the famous B-B-C (Bale-Benzema-Cristiano) trio that rained goals over opponents across Spain and Europe.
A fall-out with manager Zidane urged the Wales captain to join his former side Tottenham Hotspur on loan. However, his recent international heroics and a positive relationship with current boss Carlo Ancelotti welcomed Bale back to the Bernabeu.
Gareth Bale has had numerous long-lasting memories in his stint so far with Los Blancos and surely Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order., is not one of those.
