Key Takeaways
- A prolific goalscorer is one of the most important things for a football team and, as a result, clubs pay massive salaries to the world’s best.
- Kylian Mbappe is only the world’s 9th highest-paid striker after his move to Real Madrid.
- Among the names that are paid more than him include Gabriel Jesus and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
A prolific goalscorer is one of the most important things for any football team. If you have someone who’s capable of scoring on a regular basis, you stand a much better chance at success than you do without. As a result, clubs all over the world are willing to pay huge amounts of money to employ some of the best forwards in the game today.
From Cristiano Ronaldo to Harry Kane, the majority of football’s highest earners are all forwards who are looking to put the ball in the back of the net at any given moment. Kylian Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid is one of the biggest in years, but the Frenchman’s salary pales in comparison to some of the other players that make up the top 15 highest-paid strikers in the world.
15 highest-paid strikers in the world | ||
|---|---|---|
Player | Club | Weekly wage |
Cristiano Ronaldo | Al-Nassr | £3,275,806-per-week |
Karim Benzema | Al-Ittihad | £1,654,993-per-week |
Kylian Mbappe | Real Madrid | £511,845-per-week |
Robert Lewandowski | Barcelona | £448,172-per-week |
Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | £413,748-per-week |
Aleksandar Mitrovic | Al Hilal | £413,748-per-week |
Erling Haaland | Manchester City | £375,000-per-week |
Dusan Vlahovic | Juventus | £363,292-per-week |
Ivan Toney | Al-Ahli | £327,000-per-week |
Roberto Firmino | Al-Ahli | £314,499-per-week |
Lautaro Martinez | Inter Milan | £273,038-per-week |
Gabriel Jesus | Arsenal | £265,000-per-week |
Alvaro Morata | Atletico Madrid | £224,086-per-week |
Victor Osimhen | Napoli | £212,170-per-week |
Randal Kolo Muani | PSG | £210,681-per-week |
10
Roberto Firmino (Al-Ahli)
£314,499-per-week
After several stellar seasons with Liverpool, Roberto Firmino had started to show signs of slowing down at Anfield and, as a result, his time with the Reds came to an end in 2023. He became one of the first names in an increasing list of stars to take their talents over to the Saudi Pro League.
Offered an insane £314,499-per-week with Al Ahli, the Brazilian snapped them up on the offer and quickly became club captain. Following his switch, the former Liverpool man has played 34 times for the club, scoring on nine occasions, which isn’t exactly prolific, but with the money that they have, they won’t mind too much.
9
Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli)
£327,000-per-week
After spending much of his career rising through the English football pyramid, making a name for himself in League One with Peterborough United and then helping Brentford earn promotion to the Premier League, Ivan Toney most certainly deserves an end-of-career payout.
Luckily for him, the golden riches of the Saudi Arabian retirement home came knocking on his door this summer, and the Englishman now earns a hefty penny with Al-Ahli. the ex-Newcastle centre-forward will pocket £50million from his contract in the Middle East. Incredibly, that works out to over £16million-a-year for the 28-year-old.
8
Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)
£363,292-per-week
As the main source of goals at Italy’s best-performing club over the last decade, Dusan Vlahovic recently earned himself a shiny new contract at the Old Gold of Juventus. The striker’s current agreement with the club will see his salary rise to 10 million euros per season from the new term and reach 12 million euros per season in the 2025/2026 season.
In 260 club appearances across his career, the Serbian forward has scored a remarkable 115 goals. Better yet for him, though, is the fact he’s still only 24-years-old, meaning the likelihood of him rising through this list later in his career is relatively high.
7
Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
£375,000-per-week
Sure, he’s on £375,000-per-week, but considering how good Erling Haaland has been since moving to Manchester City in 2022, you could argue that his weekly wage is actually a bargain. The robotic striker has been scoring goals for fun at the Etihad since moving from Borussia Dortmund. He’s broken Premier League records and dominated opponents in a way that few ever have.
City have lifted multiple trophies during his time with the team already. Having won a treble in his debut campaign with the club, with the Norwegian scoring an unfathomable 52 goals along the way that season, he’s more than justified his wages.
6
Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al Hilal)
£413,748-per-week
After several impressive seasons with Fulham, Aleksandar Mitrovic decided to leave the Cottagers and joined Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League. Considering the success that he’d had in the Premier League one year prior, it took a lot of people by surprise that he’d chosen to leave in the prime of his career.
Looking at his mammoth earnings, though, it’s pretty easy to understand why he made the move. The forward has been earning £413,748 every single week since joining Al Hilal and his time with the club has already been a success. In one year, he’s played 43 games for the team, scored 40 goals and led them to winning the Saudi Pro League. Money well spent.
5
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
£413,748-per-week
Earning the exact same wage as Mitrovic is one of the greatest strikers on the planet, Harry Kane. After years of loyalty to Tottenham Hotspur, the Englishman decided to leave for greener pastures in the summer of 2023. He wanted the opportunity to add some silverware to his resume, so he joined Bayern Munich in a big-money move.
He’s been pocketing £413,748-per-week ever since and has been scoring at an astonishing rate in Germany. He’s transitioned from the Premier League to the Bundesliga with ease. Kane chalked up 56 goal contributions in 44 games during his debut campaign with Bayern, which isn’t bad at all. Unfortunately, his hunger for trophies will have to wait as the club uncharacteristically went the entire year without lifting a single one.
4
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
£448,172-per-week
From one current Bayern striker to a former one, Barcelona made Robert Lewandowski one of the highest-paid forwards in the world when they signed him from the Bundesliga giants back in 2022. The Polish star had been in blistering form for Bayern almost a decade when the Spanish side brought him into the fold.
Despite being 33 by the time he made the switch, Lewandowski has continued his excellent goalscoring form in Spain and has scored 59 times in two seasons with Barcelona. He also played a pivotal role in the side lifting the La Liga trophy at the end of the 2022/23 season, so while his wage is pretty lofty, he’s lived up to it so far.
3
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
£511,845-per-week
After what felt like years of speculation, Kylian Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid was finally announced. The Frenchman is one of the most explosive players on the planet and tore defences to shreds during his time with Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. He spent seven years with PSG, becoming their all-time leading goalscorer in the process and will be a massive addition to Madrid’s side.
Despite that, he’s actually taking a significant pay cut to join Los Blancos. Sure, he’ll still earn £511,845-per-week, making him the third highest-earning striker in the world, but considering how good he is, you could argue that he deserves even more.
2
Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad)
£1,654,993-per-week
There’s a massive increase now as we reach the second highest-paid striker in the world today and that is Karim Benzema. The former Real Madrid man left Los Blancos in 2023 when he became the latest superstar to join the Saudi Pro League. He joined Al-Ittihad who have been paying him close to £1.7m-per-week since his arrival, but things have been pretty rough for the Frenchman during his first year with the club.
While he’s still scored 16 times in 33 games for Al-Ittihad which isn’t a bad return at all, it’s not quite what you’d expect from a striker earning as much as Benzema is and fans of the side have grown frustrated with him at times throughout the season. The former Ballon d’Or winner may still turn things around, though.
1
Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr)
£3,309,986-per-week
The highest-paid striker on the planet. It’s quite fitting that Cristiano Ronaldo gets that honour as he is the highest-scoring football in history too. If anyone has earned it, it’s this guy. After a disappointing conclusion to his Manchester United homecoming, Ronaldo left the Red Devils in the winter of 2022 and joined Al-Nassr on a free transfer.
He became the first major name to move to Saudi Arabia, and the influence it’s had on the league has been massive. He’s been in incredible goalscoring form since the move too. Ronaldo broke the record for the most goals in a single Saudi Pro League season during the 2023/24 campaign, with 35 in the division.
He’s earning a truly absurd amount of money every single week, and while his side didn’t manage to win the league title this year, his influence on the side’s stature in the game and his efforts on the pitch have been what you’d expect from the highest-paid striker in the game.
