Teams in the Saudi Pro League have been flexing their financial muscles in the last two years and they can attract some of the biggest stars in European football.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns Newcastle United, have taken control of the four largest teams in the Saudi Pro League – Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, and Al Ahli – and are able to offer lucrative contracts to players.
We’ve taken a look at the 10 Saudi Pro League players with the highest weekly wage. Note: All figures mentioned do not include the array of bonuses that are included in the fine print of every contract.
Also, the wages are rounded to the nearest thousand and the values listed in euros and dollars are conversions at the time of writing, and are subject to change.
10. Aymeric Laporte
Weekly wage: £411,000 (€471,000/$544,000)
Yearly wage: £21.34million (€24.5million/$28.28million)
Club: Al Nassr
Contract until: June 30, 2026
After falling out of favour at Manchester City in the 2022/23 season, Laporte decided to join Al Nassr in a £23.6million move.
The Spain international is now earning around £411,000-per-week, but he has still spoken out about dissatisfaction with aspects of life in Saudi Arabia.
“Many of us have also come here not only for football,” he said. “Many of us are happy with that, but I am also looking for something beyond that is not the economic part and such.
“In terms of quality of life, I expected something different because in the end here you spend three hours a day in the car. Riyadh is a waste of traffic, of time wasted in the car.”
The centre-back now looks set to leave the club after two seasons and has been linked with a return to Athletic Bilbao.
Aymeric Laporte scored this from Europe (basically) ☄️
(via @ssc_sports) pic.twitter.com/bWFjqzgGKJ
— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 1, 2024
9= N’Golo Kante
Weekly wage: £419,000 (€481,000/$555,000)
Yearly wage: £21.78million (€25million/$28.86million)
Club: Al Ittihad
Contract until: June 30, 2026
Kante enjoyed a trophy-laden career at Chelsea, winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League, the Europa League, the FIFA World Club Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.
Despite being offered a new contract at Stamford Bridge in 2023, he left on a free transfer and signed a three-year deal at Al Ittihad.
The World Cup-winning midfielder is paid a handsome £419,000-per-week and has already used some of that money to purchase third-tier Belgian side Royal Excelsior Virton.
On the pitch, he helped his side win the domestic double in the 2024/25 season, clinching both the Saudi Pro League and the King Cup titles.
9= Alexsandar Mitrovic
Weekly wage: £419,000 (€481,000/$555,000)
Yearly wage: £21.78million (€25million/$28.86million)
Club: Al Hilal
Contract until: June 30, 2026
Mitrovic decided to leave Fulham in 2023 and forced through a £46million move to Al-Hilal, who agreed to pay the Serbia international £419,000-per-week.
“When I received the offer from Al-Hilal, I talked about it with my family, giving up was impossible,” he told reporters.
“I have no nostalgia for England, I played many years there. I’m happy to have finally arrived at a top club, Al-Hilal is a bit like Real Madrid in Europe.”
The striker netted 40 goals in 43 appearances in all competitions in his debut season, helping his side win the Saudi Pro League, Saudi Super Cup and the King Cup.
He netted another 28 goals in his second season but Al Hilal will reportedly let him leave the club this summer if they sign Darwin Nunez from Liverpool.
9= Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
Weekly wage: £419,000 (€481,000/$555,000)
Yearly wage: £21.78million (€25million/$28.86million)
Club: Al Hilal
Contract until: June 30, 2026
Alongside Mitrovic, Al-Hilal also signed another Serbia international in the summer of 2023 after paying Lazio £34million for Milinkovic-Savic.
The midfielder had been linked with Juventus, Inter and a host of Premier League clubs, but he decided to move to Saudi Arabia.
He put pen to paper on a three-year contract and more than quadrupled his wages, going from around £99,000-per-week in Rome to £419,000-per-week in Riyadh.
The 30-year-old quickly forged an impressive midfield partnership with former Wolves captain Ruben Neves and has registered 29 goals and 25 assists in 96 appearances for the club.
🗣️ “Let’s see now if they’ll criticise us”
Al-Hilal’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic wants more respect for the Saudi Pro League after his side’s performances at the Club World Cup. pic.twitter.com/xI1ShN25zJ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 1, 2025
6. Ivan Toney
Weekly wage: £427,000 (€491,000/$566,000)
Yearly wage: £22.22million (€25.51million/$29.45million)
Club: Al-Ahli
Contract until: June 30, 2028
Toney joined Al-Ahli last summer and signed a four-year deal worth £427,000-per-week — an astronomical rise from his previous £20,000-per-week salary at Brentford.
Alongside his base salary, he can also earn an additional £141,000-per-week in add-ons to potentially take his total to £533,000-per-week.
The striker justified those wages by scoring 30 goals in his debut season and helping his side win the AFC Champions League for the first time in their history.
5. Kalidou Koulibaly
Weekly wage: £581,000 (€667,000/$770,000)
Yearly wage: £30.23million (€34.7million/$40.05million)
Club: Al-Hilal
Contract until: June 30, 2026
Koulibaly spent just one solitary season at Chelsea before packing his bags and joining Al-Hilal in a £17million deal in the summer of 2023.
The centre-back signed a three-year contract and is pocketing a reported £581,000-a-week, making him the highest-paid defender in the world.
“I can’t deny it,” Koulibaly said when asked about the money. “I will be able to help my whole family to live well, from my parents to my cousins, and support the activities of my Capitaine du Coeur association in Senegal.
“We started building a clinic in my parents’ village. I have many projects to help young people. I don’t like being on the bench doing nothing. I prefer to go where I am really wanted.”
Alongside Mitrovic and Milinkovic-Savic, the Senegal international also played a key role in their domestic double success in 2023/24.
4. Sadio Mane
Weekly wage: £670,000 (€769,000/$888,000)
Yearly wage: £34.85million (€40million/$46.17million)
Club: Al Nassr
Contract until: June 30, 2026
After enduring a difficult debut season at Bayern Munich in 2022/23, Mane left Europe and accepted a lucrative offer from Al-Nassr.
He has a weekly salary of £670,000 in Saudi Arabia and stands to earn around £139.4million over the course of his four-year deal.
The 33-year-old Senegal international followed in Kante’s footsteps and used his money to buy fourth-tier French club Bourges Foot 18.
He’s also rediscovered his best form on the pitch, registering 37 goals and 25 assists in 93 appearances over the last two seasons.
3. Karim Benzema
Weekly wage: £838,000 (€769,000/$1.11million)
Yearly wage: £43.56million (€50million/$57.72million)
Club: Al Ittihad
Contract until: June 30, 2026
Al-Ittihad completed a huge coup in the summer of 2023 by signing Benzema, who was the reigning Ballon d’Or holder at the time.
The France international bid an emotional farewell to Real Madrid and agreed to a three-year deal with the Saudi Arabian side worth £838,000-per-week.
“Above all, it’s a Muslim country, which is beautiful, and that’s where I want to be,” he said when asked about the move. “It is important to be in a Muslim country where I already feel that people love me; it will allow me to have a new life. I want to speak the Arabic language fluently; for me, it’s important.
“There are lots of other things. I’m lucky to be in Saudi Arabia, and Mecca is close. I’m a believer, so it’s important for me. I’m in my place, it’s important. There, I’m going to feel the best. When I talked to my family, they were all very happy. They’re all going to come.”
After a difficult debut season, he won the Saudi Pro League Player of the Season award in 2024/25 and helped his side to the domestic double.
2. Riyad Mahrez
Weekly wage: £875,000 (€1million/$1.15million)
Yearly wage: £45.48million (€52.2million/$60.26million)
Club: Al-Ahli
Contract until: June 30, 2027
Mahrez spent five years at Manchester City and bowed out in style by winning the Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions League in 2022/23.
The Algeria international then completed a £30million move to Al Ahli and is now being paid a reported £45.48million-per-year.
“I was offered four years in Saudi Arabia, in a Muslim country where I can definitely protect (and provide for) my family,” he said. “There was also a new challenge, and a new project. So, I decided to leave, it wasn’t a big deal.”
The winger added another medal to his trophy cabinet by winning the AFC Champions League in 2024/25 – making him one of the few players to win both that competition and its European equivalent.
A rocket from Riyad Mahrez in the AFC Champions League quarterfinal! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/kWpR2Cu5o5
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 26, 2025
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
Weekly wage: £3.49million (€4million/$4.62million)
Yearly wage: £181.57million (€208.4million/$240.58million)
Club: Al Nassr
Contract until: June 30, 2027
Ronaldo’s second spell at Manchester United came to an acrimonious end in November 2022 and his £515,000-a-week contract was terminated by mutual consent.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner then bid farewell to European football and put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year contract with Al-Nassr.
His salary in Saudi Arabia makes a mockery of his United income as he now earns £3.49million-per-week, making him the highest-paid footballer in the world.
The 40-year-old striker has shown no signs of slowing down, winning the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot in back-to-back seasons.
He was linked with a move away from Al Nassr at the end of the 2024/25 season but has since put pen to paper on a two-year contract extension.
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