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#1 Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - £500,000 / week
It would have been a major travesty if anyone else topped this list, as nobody past or present (except perhaps Ronaldo) can claim to have impacted the course of La Liga's history in the way that Messi has.
The Argentine international has been nothing short of phenomenal - bordering on alienlike in his displays for the Blaugrana, helping the Catalans to a total of 33 major honours, including four Champions League trophies, nine La Ligas and two treble winning campaigns.
As the club's and to a larger extent the league's prime performer, it goes without saying that Messi should be the highest paid player in La Liga, and Barcelona made sure of that in some style.
He earns £150,000 more than anyone else in the league every week and incredibly, unlike most other professional football contacts, Messi's wages are post-tax, which means that his taxes are not deducted from his earnings but rather handled by Barcelona, which is the least they can do considering all Messi has given to them.
