The nation's finest feature heavily in some of Europe's top leagues - and get paid a pretty penny for it
19:13, 31 Mar 2025
Scot McTominay, Aaron Hickey and Kieran Tierney.
Scot McTominay, Aaron Hickey and Kieran Tierney.
Scotland's top footballers have flown the coop in recent years - and have reaped the financial rewards as a result.
The beautiful game is awash with more cash than it has ever been before with the money muscle of the Premier League dwarfing all until the emergence of the Saudi Pro League.
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Leagues like La Liga and Serie A are also more than willing to offer huge salaries for the best talents around - and at the moment Scotland has quite a few members in that category.
Not every player earns such a staggering six-figure wage, but even players who would be considered “lesser” when compared to that bracket are still earning eye-watering fees.
Football salary and finance website Capology has crunched the numbers on who from Scottish shores has a prettiest bank account (the figures are correct as of March 25 2025).
Capology has not included players from the Scottish Premiership, with Celtic top earner Callum McGregor (£35k pw) and Rangers top earner James Tavernier (£30k pw) among those who would have made the cut.
Record Sport takes you through the 10 highest-earning Scottish players in world football.
10: Tom Cairney (Fulham) - £30k per week
Tom Cairney has racked up well over 300 appearances for Fulham since his move to Craven Cottage in 2015.
The midfielder started his career with Hull City and Blackburn Rovers before switching to London, where he has helped his current side win promotion to the Premier League on three separate occasions.
The 34-year-old also has two caps for Scotland with his no nonsense approach in the middle of the park. His weekly wage of £30,000 means that he takes home £1.56 million per year.
9: Ryan Fraser (Southampton) - £40k per week
Winger Ryan Fraser takes home his eye-watering wage despite playing a bit part role at Southampton since he joined in 2023.
He was sent on loan at Saints where he earned a permanent move from Newcastle in the summer of 2024 after helping the club win promotion from the Championship.
Fraser came through the ranks at Aberdeen where he played 21 times before a big move to Bournemouth in 2013, where he spent seven years.
The 31-year-old has played in more than 25 matches for Scotland but has not won a cap since 2022. His £40k weekly wage means he takes home just over £2 million.
8: Che Adams (Torino) - £53,723 per week
This time it is a former Southampton player that makes the list. Che Adams has enjoyed a fruitful debut season in Italian football with Torino.
The striker has netted 11 goal contributions for the Serie A side - not too bad for a free transfer.
The 28-year-old has made over 30 appearances for Scotland and played both legs of the Nations League defeat to Greece. The former Sheffield United and Birmingham forward's £53,723-a-week wage adds up to just shy of £2.8 million.
7: Billy Gilmour (Napoli) - £53,723 per week
The former Rangers and Chelsea youngster's wage is exactly level with former Premier League foe Adams.
The defensive midfielder has found a new lease of life with Napoli after spells at Norwich City and Brighton and Hove Albion.
The now 23-year-old's performances have made him a mainstay in the Scotland team and earned a move to Naples in the summer of 2024.
Bother he and fellow Scotsman, Scott McTominay, have forged a major role in Antonio Conte's Serie A title charge. Gilmour's weekly wage also comes to just short of £2.8 million.
6: Ryan Christie (Bournemouth) - £70k per week
The former Celtic midfielder is among the most under-rated players in the Premier League.
Only Moises Caicedo has had more ball recoveries, as a midfielder player, in the division this season. And the Cherries are more than willing to cough up for his services.
Ryan Christie is a star at Bournemouth
Ryan Christie is a star at Bournemouth(Image: AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
Christie began his career as a winger, joining the Glasgow club in 2015 after two years of playing with his local side Inverness CT.
Christie spent six years at Parkhead before a move down south with Bournemouth beckoned in 2021. And it has proved lucrative, with the 30-year-old racking in £3.64 million a year.
5: Aaron Hickey (Brentford) - £70k per week
The injury-stricken defender has had a long stint on the sidelines after suffering an injury against Chelsea in October 2023.
Beginning his full-back career at Hearts he made a surprise departure for Bologna in 2020.
His Serie A form quickly turned heads before Thomas Frank and Brentford came calling, with a national team call-up coming soon after.
Meanwhile, as he regains full fitness and a return to the pitch Hickey's £70,000-per-week wage gives him £3.64 million in his account every year.
4:
'Braveheart' has captured the imagination of every fan in Naples since he made the switch from Manchester United to Napoli last summer.
Having spent over two decades, including all levels of football, at Old Trafford Antonio Conte pushed the boat out to sign the 28-year-old for just over £25 million.
Since moving to Serie A, McTominay has been something of a sensation as his side battle Inter Milan for the Serie A crown.
McTominay is said to be on a weekly wage of just under £90,000, making him the highest-paid Scot in Italian football. He takes home an annual salary of £4.7 million.
3: Kieran Tierney (Arsenal) - £110k per week
The boyhood Celtic captain Kieran Tierney was, and still is, idolised by the Parkhead faithful with rumours of a glorious homecoming refusing to go away.
The storming full-back joined Arsenal for around £25 million in 2019, while Unai Emery was in charge.
However the Gunners replaced one Spanish coach for another as Mikel Arteta was brought in just a few months later.
Kieran Tierney
Kieran Tierney(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Since then both the manager's lack of trust and injury issues have plagued his time in North London.
It seems that a departure in the summer of 2025 is more likely than not for the defender with a Hoops return on a free transfer looking like destiny.
But the 27-year-old is on a wage of £110,000 - £5.72 million per year - so a compromise will need to be met.
2: John McGinn (Aston Villa) - £110k per week
Same salary, different experience. John McGinn is adored by the Villa Park faithful and has been since his bargain £2m move to Birmingham from Hibernian in 2018.
Since the arrival of Unai Emery as manager, Villa have gone from battling relegation to battling for Europe.
They reached the semi-finals of the Conference League in the 2023/24 campaign while domestically, they qualified for the Champions League for the first time in four decades.
Now captain of the club, McGinn’s importance in such a rise could never be understated. The Scot is on a weekly wage of over £110,000 - equalling £5.72 million per year.
1: Andy Robertson (Liverpool) - £160k per week
The top of the tree and by some margin its Premier League and Champions League winger Andy Robertson.
The flying full-back has come a long way since his youth days at Celtic and his early days success at Dundee United.
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In July 2014, The Arabs accepted an offer of just £2.85 million from Hull City for his services before sealing an £8 million move to Liverpool three years later.
Given his success at Anfield, Reds fans will happily admit he has been the bargin to end ll bargains. making over 250 appearances for the club. The defender has racked up over 80 caps for Scotland and is also the captain of the team.
His salary sees the 31-year-old take home a whopping £8.32 million per year.