Soccer Salaries (The Real Cost Per Week, Month & Year)

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Money in soccer today is huge. It gives teams the chance to go and buy players to better strengthen their team but offers a team a set fee to buy the player.

What also happens is a club will offer a wage to the player that they want to buy.

For the best players in the world, this number is far bigger than what a youth player would get and given that there is no salary cap, the numbers can get very big.

In this article, we are going to have a look at everything to do with money in the world of soccer. These include:

  • How much do soccer players make in a year?
  • How much money do professional soccer players make?
  • How much do players get paid a week?

Everyone likes money and it is no secret that soccer players make A LOT of it compared to other professions.

Read on to find out everything there is to know about players’ wages and what they can earn. You will not believe what we have discovered!

Neymar during a warm up before a soccer game in 2018
Neymar during a warm up before a soccer game in 2018

Do Soccer players get paid weekly?

Yes, they can be, but given that we are not on the inside of a club, this is only a guess. So often we see that especially in the British media that they quote players earning X amount per week. 

While this might in fact be the case, depending on the club and how its wage bill is structured, payments could be made fortnightly or even monthly.

In the English Premier League, the average soccer player will make just over £60,000 per week. That is around $3 million a year.

Because the Premier League is the top tier of soccer in the UK, it is by far the highest-paid.

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The English Championship wages average out at just over £4,000 a week. As you can see there is a big gap in money.

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25.06.2018. Saransk, Russian:CRISTIANO RONALDO KISS BALL in the Fifa World Cup Russia 2018, Group B, football match between IRAN V PORTUGAL in MORDOVIA ARENA STADIUM in SARANSK
25.06.2018. Saransk, Russian: Cristiano Ronaldo Kiss Ball in The Fifa World Cup Russia 2018, Group B, Football Match Between Iran v Portugal in Mordovia Arena Stadium in Saransk

How much money do professional soccer players make?

This largely depends on who the player is. Great players are paid much higher than what a younger player would be.

As an example, a player like Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is on a wage of around £400,000 per week. Why is he paid so much you ask?

LeagueAverage Salary
MLS $410,000
English Premier League$3,970,000
La Liga (Spain)$2,550,000
Serie A (Italy)$2,230,000
Bundesliga (Germany)$1,980,000
Ligue 1 (France)$1,300,000
Chinese Super League$1,210,000
Average Player Salary – Soccer’s Big Leagues – Information from Statista.

It is because of the effect he has on games. His pay is high because De Bruyne can win you games of soccer off his own boot.

Whether it is scoring goals or creating them for other players, De Bruyne is one of the best players in England.

Soccer teams will pay more for players who can change and dictate games because, at the end of the day, soccer is a results business.

The same goes for strikers. More often than not, strikers are paid significantly more than other players simply because it is their job to score goals and goals win games of soccer.

Strikers like Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku are paid more per week because of his goal-scoring threat than a player like Virgil van Dijk is paid as a defender.

Simply because scoring goals is harder than stopping goals, although that is not everyone’s opinion.

Lionel Messi during the UEFA Champions League game between Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Barcelona at BayArena stadium
Lionel Messi during the UEFA Champions League game between Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Barcelona at BayArena stadium

How much do soccer players make a year?

This largely depends on the players and the league they play in. In the Premier League, players can get more than £10 million a year like Arsenal’s Willian. 

On the other hand, for a young player who plays for a team like Norwich in the Premier League, because of the size and resources of the club, the salary a year will be significantly lower than what it would be for a top-six team.

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Players like Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo can earn up to £30 million a year simply because of their huge weekly wages which can be nearly half a million a week which is simply mind-blowing for most people.

Sam Mewis, right, of United States women's national soccer team passes the ball against Julia Zigiotti Olme of Sweden women's national football team in the third round match of Group F match during the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 in Paris, France
Sam Mewis, right, of the United States women’s national soccer team passes the ball against Julia Zigiotti Olme of Sweden women’s national football team in the third round match of Group F match during the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 in Paris, France

How do professional soccer players get paid?

For professional soccer players, the majority of their money will come from their club contracts. 

However, other high-profile players like Paul Pogba, Bukayo Saka, and Raheem Sterling, can get other sources of money from different avenues.

This can be from endorsements from brands such as Puma, Adidas, Nike, and more. Along with bonuses inserted into their contracts, playing international football among others.

This all adds up and when you put this on top of your club’s salary, it is a lot of money. The very best players on the planet can make millions and millions of dollars away from the pitch if they grow their brand right.

  • A good example of this is NFL quarterback Tom Brady. He is known for taking team-friendly contracts to allow the franchise to use the extra money to get other quality players. His brand TB12 promotes his off-field well-being and training.

This is where players can earn a significant amount of money off-field.

Arjen Robben Thiago Sebastian Rudy Training 2018 05 08 FC Bayern Muenchen
Arjen Robben, Thiago Sebastian, Rudy Training 2018 05 08 FC Bayern Munich

Do soccer players get paid during the off-season?

The answer is yes, players do get paid during the off-season. Most of the time, players will have an annual base salary that they get from the club’s contract.

Sometimes a club will leave a little bit of money to the side to pay the player in the offseason

However, this often depends on the kind of contract that a player has with the club.

For the most part, professional soccer players get paid once every four weeks and this does not relate to how much soccer they play during that time.

How much do soccer players make an hour?

Again, this will be decided by who the players are. For someone like Cristiano Ronaldo, he can earn up to over $1000 per hour depending on his contract.

Amateur soccer players, however, can earn around $32 per hour when broken down which equates to around $60,000 a year.

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On average, a player in the Premier League can earn around $298 an hour but for better players like Paul Pogba, this is considerably higher.

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Sources:

8e83cfb63d54c9260fa694b185c6bca8?s=150&d=mp&r=g ○ Soccer Blade
Soccer Analyst and Publisher at Soccer Blade | Soccer Blade | + posts

Joel is a seasoned soccer journalist and analyst with many years of experience in the field. Joel specializes in game analysis, player profiles, transfer news, and has a keen eye for the tactical nuances of the game. He played at various levels in the game and coached teams - he is happy to share his insight with you.

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