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Barcelona is one of the most successful and financially successful clubs in the world, boasting a squad full of world class players in all departments.
With £264m spent on players salaries last year, Barcelona had the second highest wage bill in the world behind only PSG, while the $688m they generated in revenue makes them the second most valuable club in the world behind Manchester United.
This is money well spent though, as most of the players perform at an optimum, justifying the huge salaries hey receive. In this piece, we shall be taking a look at the five highest earners currently at Barcelona. Figures curtsey sillyseason.com
Also see : Womens World Cup Bracket, Copa America Standings, Gold Cup Standings
#5 Sergio Busquets - £180,000 / week
Sergio Busquets has been a prime performer for Barcelona ever since he was handed his first team debut by Pep Guardiola way back in 2008.
The Spanish international has been at Barcelona since 2005, progressing through the ranks and going on to cement his legacy as one of the greatest players in the club's illustrious history.
Though it might be easy to the casual fan to underestimate Busquets' importance to the team, this is a major fallacy best exemplified by the glaring struggles the club faces whenever he is absent.
What he lacks for in flair and excitement, the 30-year-old more than makes up for with technique and excellent close control, acting as the shield for the Blaugrana defense, giving their attackers the license to roam forward.
With over 500 official matches for the Catalans, Busquets is one of the highest appearance makers in the cub's illustrious history, while his trophy cabinet is also burgeoning, having won everything winnable in the game.
Last November, the La Masia graduate signed a contract extension which would keep him at the club until 2023 and sees him net a whopping £180,000 per week
#4 Ousmane Dembele - £220,000 / week
Dembele was made the most expensive player in Barcelona's history when he was snapped up from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017.
The Frenchman had very huge boots to fill in that he was signed as a replacement for the PSG-bound Neymar and his incredibly difficult task was made much harder owing to a serious injury sustained at the start of his Barcelona career which hampered his debut season.
The former Rennes man had a substandard first campaign with Barcelona, leading to speculations over his future following the signature of Malcom and his predicament was further compounded by allegations of indiscipline and poor lifestyle choices.
The World Cup winner has however risen above that to become one of the key members of Valverde's starting 11 and has continuously impressed with his displays.
Details of his contract in 2017 revealed that Dembele earns a massive £220,000 every week which was said to not sit down well with most of his teammates, but the 22-year-old is well on his way to justifying those earnings.
#3 Philippe Coutinho - £240,000 / week
Philippe Coutinho is currently the most expensive player of all time at Barcelona, as well as the third costliest in history following his mega £145m transfer to the club from Liverpool in January 2018.
The Catalans had repeatedly made Coutinho a priority signing, but were constantly rebuffed by Liverpool until the finally landed their player last year.
Having wowed fans for six years in the Premier League with Liverpool, it was expected that the Brazilian international would perform at an even higher level following the switch, given the superior quality of players at Barcelona, however that has not been the case.
Such has been Coutinho's struggles that he has been identified as one of the players that Barcelona should get rid of, while he looks nothing like the confident player he was at Merseyside.
The 26-year-old currently finds himself out of the first team picture at Barcelona which is a shame, given that he earns a staggering £240,000 every week.
#2 Luis Suarez - £290,000 / week
Another player who transferred from Liverpool to Barcelona - however, unlike his Brazilian counterpart, Luis Suarez brought his 'A game' with him to Spain, rising above his initial struggles to take his performance to unprecedented heights.
The 31-year-old struck up a devastating partnership with Neymar and Lionel Messi in what was affectionately termed the 'MSN', helping the Blaugrana lift the treble in just his first season at the club.
The very next campaign saw him win the Golden Boot in La Liga, making him the first player in history to win the top scorer's award in the Netherlands, England and Spain, while also giving him the distinction of beating the eternal duo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the European Golden Boot.
Though he still has his critics in some quarters, the Uruguayan international continues to wow with his performances and his value is recognized by the Barcelona board, as he is the second highest earner at the club, being paid the unbelievable sum of £290,000 per week.
#1 Lionel Messi - £500,000 / week
There really could only be one player on top of this list. Lionel Messi is undisputedly the greatest player in Barcelona's history and as such it makes sense that he should be paid accordingly.
The transformation in the club's fortunes since he came into his prime has been massive, helping the club to a total of 33 major trophies including two treble winning campaigns in 2009 and 2015.
He is the club's highest goalscorer of all time, as well as top assist giver and his contributions to the Barcelona cause has been invaluable.
With earnings of £500,000 weekly, Lionel Messi is not just the highest paid player in Barcelona, but also the joint-highest paid in the world and this is no less than he deserves, given his extraterrestrial level of performance.
Incredibly, while all other figures on this list are pre-tax wages, Lionel Messi's contract was devoid of tax payment, with the £500,000 being the amount accrued after tax and this s symbolic of the immense value placed on him by Barcelona.
