Man Utd agreed to pay Cristiano Ronaldo a reported €654,000 a week when signing him from Juventus in August – how does that compare with the top earners in Serie A?
The Portuguese star left Turin in the summer after scoring 101 goals in 134 appearances with the Bianconeri between 2018 and 2021.
Ronaldo has almost single-handedly increased the wage bill at Old Trafford by over 20 per cent.
The former Real Madrid star was Juventus and Serie A’s highest earner with a €31m-a-year salary.
His former teammate Matthijs de Ligt is now the best-played player in Turin and the rest of Italy.
The Dutchman signed an €8m-a-year deal with the Bianconeri in 2018, but his salary could raise to €12m-a-year with add-ons.
Paulo Dybala will soon join him on top of Serie A’s best-paid players signing a new €8m-a-year deal with €2m add-ons.
Dybala is currently the third-highest earner in Serie A with a €7.3m-a-year salary, behind Christian Eriksen, who gets €7.5m.
The Inter star is out of action as he is not allowed to play in Serie A with a heart starter, which he had implanted after suffering a heart attack during Denmark-Finland at the Euros last summer. Inter are covering his salary through FIFA insurance.
Aaron Ramsey, Adrien Rabiot, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Arturo Vidal all get €7m-a-year, followed by Wojciech Szczęsny and Leonardo Bonucci (€6.5m-a-year) and Lautaro Martinez, who has recently signed a new €6m-a-year contract with Inter.
Serie A’s best-paid players (source Calcio e Finanza)
Matthijs de Ligt €8m
Christian Eriksen €7.5m
Paulo Dybala €7.3m
Aaron Ramsey €7m
Adrien Rabiot €7m
Zlatan Ibrahimovic €7m
Alexis Sanchez €7m
Arturo Vidal €6.5m
Leonardo Bonucci €6.5m
Wojciech Szczęsny €6.5m
Lautaro Martinez €6m
Alex Sandro €6m
Kalidou Koulibaly €6m