Football players are among the best paid athletes in the world at the moment and rightly so too. After all, football is the most popular game in the world and even though NBA has more money involved in it, football has a much larger following as a whole.
Here, we have compiled a list of best paid footballers of 112 countries of the world.
Not just that. We’re providing you with their current annual salary and the ‘Per Capita GDP‘ of the respective country to draw a comparison from. You won’t be surprised to see that most, if not all, footballers are paid a large multiple of the per capita income.
| Country | Best-Paid Athlete | League, Team (or Competition) | Annual Salary | Per Capita GDP |
| Albania | Lorik Cana | Turkey, Galatasaray | $2,500,000 | $3,846 |
| Algeria | Nadir Belhadj | Qatar, Al Sadd | $2,779,000 | $4,029 |
| Andorra | Ildefons Lima | Switzerland, AC Bellinzona | $531,822 | $43,770 |
| Angola | Manucho | Turkey, Manisaspor | $865,579 | $1,892 |
| Argentina | Carlos Tevez | EPL, Manchester City | $19,000,000 | $7,666 |
| Armenia | Henrikh Mkhitaryan | Ukraine, Shakhtar Donetsk | $360,000 | $2,770 |
| Azerbaijan | Aleksandr Samedov | Russia, Dynamo Moscow | $1,287,000 | $4,871 |
| Bahrain | Abdullah Omar Ismail | Switzerland, Neuchatel Xamax | $202,086 | $24,409 |
| Belarus | Alexander Hleb | EPL, Birmingham City | $3,300,000 | $5,090 |
| Belgium | Vincent Kompany | EPL, Manchester City | $5,340,000 | $44,254 |
| Benin | Stephane Sessegnon | EPL, Sunderland | $2,800,000 | $739 |
| Bermuda | Reggie Lambe | England (D3), Bristol Rovers | $480,000 | $101,346 |
| Bolivia | Marcelo Moreno | Ukraine, Shakhtar Donetsk | $883,449 | $1,758 |
| Bosnia | Edin Dzeko | EPL, Manchester City | $8,470,000 | $4,525 |
| Botswana | Mogogi Gabonamong | South Africa, SuperSport United | $354,000 | $5,959 |
| Bulgaria | Dimitar Berbatov | EPL, Manchester United | $6,700,000 | $6,458 |
| Burkina Faso | Charles Kabore | France, Marseille | $1,118,000 | $517 |
| Burundi | Saidi Ntibazonkiza | Poland, MKS Cracovia | $315,000 | $151 |
| Cameroon | Samuel Eto’o | Serie A, Inter Milan | $8,000,000 | $1,136 |
| Cape Verde | Cafu | Cyprus, Anorthosis Famagusta | $287,000 | $3,131 |
| Central African Republic | Eloge Enza Yanissi | France, Troyes | $206,000 | $448 |
| Chad | Misdongarde Betoligar | Serbia, FK Metalac | $21,500 | $610 |
| Chile | Mark Gonzalez | Russia, CSKA Moscow | $9,324,958 | $9,623 |
| Comoros | Kassim Abdallah | France, CS Sedan Ardennes | $120,000 | $785 |
| Costa Rica | Bryan Ruiz | Netherlands, FC Twente | $1,720,828 | $6,395 |
| Croatia | Luka Modric | EPL, Tottenham Hotspur | $4,900,000 | $14,273 |
| Cyprus | Constandinos Charalambides | Cyprus, Apoel F.C. Nicosia | $1,589,000 | $29,263 |
| Czech Republic | Petr Cech | EPL, Chelsea | $7,400,000 | $18,344 |
| Dem. Rep. of the Congo | Herita Ilunga | EPL, West Ham United | $2,730,000 | $170 |
| Denmark | Daniel Agger | EPL, Liverpool | $4,500,000 | $56,687 |
| Djibouti | Ismail Ahmed Kadar Hassan | Slovakia, F.K. Dunajska Streda | $51,500 | $1,076 |
| Ecuador | Antonio Valencia | EPL, Manchester United | $6,361,983 | $4,206 |
| Egypt (Tie) | Mohammed Zidan | Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund | $2,580,000 | $2,265 |
| Egypt (Tie) | Mohamed Abu Treika | Egypt, Al Ahly | $2,580,000 | |
| El Salvador | Arturo Alvarez | MLS, Real Salt Lake | $201,922 | $3,424 |
| Equatorial Guinea | Rodolfo Bodipo | Spain (D2), Elche | $430,000 | $17,544 |
| Estonia | Ragnar Klavan | Netherlands, AZ Alkmaar | $2,006,000 | $14,374 |
| Faroe Islands | Christian Holst | Denmark, Silkeborg | $1,630,000 | $32,800 |
| France | Franck Ribery | Bundesliga, Bayern Munich | $14,100,000 | $41,226 |
| French Guiana | Florent Malouda | EPL, Chelsea | $3,441,823 | $8,300 |
| Gabon | Daniel Cousin | Greece, Larissa | $645,000 | $7,647 |
| Gambia | Ousman Jallow | Denmark, Brondby | $314,000 | $543 |
| Ghana | Michael Essien | EPL, Chelsea | $5,500,000 | $627 |
| Greenland | Jesper Gronkjaer | Denmark, FC Copenhagen | $923,440 | $22,126 |
| Guatemala | Carlos Ruiz | MLS, Philadelphia Union | $306,670 | $2,661 |
| Guinea | Ibrahima Yattara | Turkey, Trabzonspor | $717,000 | $470 |
| Guinea-Bissau | Almami Moreira | China, Dalian Aerbin | $573,000 | $517 |
| Honduras | David Suazo | Serie A, Inter Milan | $5,716,476 | $1,930 |
| Hungary | Zoltan Gera | EPL, Fulham | $2,970,000 | $12,886 |
| Iceland | Eidur Gudjohnsen | EPL, Fulham | $2,538,000 | $37,616 |
| Indonesia | Bambang Pamungkas | Indonesia, Persija Jakarta | $160,000 | $2,349 |
| Iraq | Nashat Akram | Qatar, Al-Wakrah | $900,000 | $830 |
| Ireland | John O’shea | EPL, Manchester United | $6,800,000 | $49,115 |
| Israel | Yossi Benayoun | EPL, Chelsea | $6,859,267 | $27,061 |
| Ivory Coast | Yaya Toure | EPL, Manchester City | $18,200,000 | $1,093 |
| Jamaica | Ricardo Gardner | EPL, Bolton | $2,613,074 | $4,566 |
| Jordan | Odai Al-Saify | Cyprus, Alki Larnaca | $145,000 | $3,973 |
| Kenya | McDonald Mariga | Serie A, Inter Milan | $1,300,000 | $739 |
| Kuwait | Bader Al-Mutwa | Saudi Arabia, Al-Nassr FC | $400,000 | $36,668 |
| Kyrgyzstan | Mirlan Murzaev | Israel, Hapoel Petah Tikva | $150,000 | $835 |
| Lebanon | Youssef Mohamad | Bundesliga, FC Cologne | $1,074,839 | $8,175 |
| Lesotho | Lehlohonolo Seema | South Africa, Orlando Pirates | $34,300 | $780 |
| Liberia | Sekou Oliseh | Russia, CSKA Moscow | $573,000 | $216 |
| Libya | Tariq El Taib | Libya, Al Ahly Tripoli | $1,130,000 | $9,153 |
| Liechtenstein | Martin Stocklasa | Austria, SV Ried | $978,800 | $134,392 |
| Macedonia | Goran Pandev | Serie A, Inter Milan | $4,250,000 | $4,662 |
| Madagascar | Anicet Andrianantenaina | France, AJ Auxerre | $86,000 | $448 |
| Malawi | Tamika Mkandawire | England (D2), Millwall | $571,000 | $318 |
| Mali | Frederic Kanoute | La Liga, Sevilla | $8,600,000 | $679 |
| Malta | Michael Mifsud | Malta, Qormi | $1,142,000 | $19,543 |
| Mauritania | Pascal Gourville | France (D4), Moissy-Cramayel | $353,000 | $866 |
| Mauritius | Diallo Guidileye | France, Stade Brest | $313,000 | $6,729 |
| Moldova | Alexandru Epureanu | Russia, Dynamo Moscow | $1,433,000 | $1,500 |
| Montenegro | Mirko Vucinic | Serie A, AS Roma | $6,020,000 | $6,546 |
| Morocco | Marouane Chamakh | EPL, Arsenal | $4,247,000 | $2,834 |
| Mozambique | Mate Simao Junior | Greece, Panathinaikos | $516,000 | $418 |
| Namibia | Collin Benjamin | Bundesliga, Hamburg | $1,000,000 | $4,288 |
| Nepal | Santosh Sahukhala | Nepal, Manang Marshyangdi Club | $8,430 | $452 |
| Netherlands | Nigel De Jong | EPL, Manchester City | $10,500,000 | $47,889 |
| New Caledonia | Frederic Piquionne | EPL, West Ham United | $2,972,339 | $37,124 |
| Niger | Alhassane Issoufou | Morocco, FUS de Rabat | $200,000 | $343 |
| Nigeria | John Mikel Obi | EPL, Chelsea | $5,800,000 | $1,123 |
| North Korea (Tie) | An Yong-Hak | J-League, Kashiwa Reysol | $619,107 | $499 |
| North Korea (Tie) | Jong Tae-Se | Germany (D2), VFL Bochum | $619,107 | |
| Norway | John Carew | EPL, Stoke City | $4,500,000 | $78,674 |
| Oman | Ali Al Habsi | EPL, Wigan Athletic | $3,000,000 | $18,876 |
| Palestine | Fadi Lafi | Oman, Saham | $65,000 | $1,367 |
| Paraguay | Roque Santa Cruz | EPL, Manchester City | $7,668,947 | $2,314 |
| Peru | Claudio Pizarro | Bundesliga, Werder Bremen | $5,448,894 | $4,403 |
| Portugal | Cristiano Ronaldo | La Liga, Real Madrid | $19,500,000 | $21,807 |
| Qatar | Sebastian Soria Quintana | Qatar, Qatar SC | $391,000 | $69,754 |
| Republic of the Congo | Christopher Samba | EPL, Blackburn Rovers | $3,000,000 | $2,704 |
| Romania | Cristian Chivu | Serie A, Inter Milan | $5,013,000 | $7,573 |
| Rwanda | Olivier Karekezi | Sweden, Oster | $52,000 | $527 |
| San Marino | Aldo Simoncini | Serie A, Cesena | $172,000 | $54,104 |
| Saudi Arabia | Mohammed Noor | Saudi Arabia, Al-Ittihad | $1,200,000 | $14,353 |
| Scotland | Darren Fletcher | EPL, Manchester United | $5,000,000 | $35,239 |
| Seychelles | Michael Mancienne | EPL, Wolverhampton | $2,100,000 | $9,354 |
| Somalia | Abdisalam Ibrahim | England (D2), Scunthorpe | $340,000 | $220 |
| South Korea | Ji-Sung Park | EPL, Manchester United | $4,700,000 | $17,225 |
| Suriname | Clarence Seedorf | Serie A, AC Milan | $4,000,000 | $5,707 |
| Swaziland | Tony Tsabedze | South Africa, Santos Cape Town | $212,000 | $2,668 |
| Sweden | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Serie A, AC Milan | $12,700,000 | $43,903 |
| Syria | Sanharib Malki | Belgium, Lokeren | $400,000 | $2,463 |
| Tajikistan | Farkhod Vasiev | Russia, Zhemchuzhina-Sochi | $145,000 | $716 |
| Togo | Emmanuel Adebayor | EPL, Manchester City | $11,900,000 | $480 |
| Tunisia | Karim Haggui | Bundesliga, Hannover 96 | $820,000 | $3,852 |
| UAE | Ismail Matar | UAE, Al-Wahda | $360,000 | $54,138 |
| Uruguay | Diego Forlan | La Liga, Atletico Madrid | $7,169,746 | $9,376 |
| Uzbekistan | Maksim Shatskikh | Ukraine, Arsenal Kiev | $120,000 | $1,199 |
| Vietnam | Lee Nguyen | Vietnam, Becamex Binh Duong | $180,000 | $1,058 |
| Wales | Ryan Giggs | EPL, Manchester United | $6,300,000 | $35,239 |
| Zambia | Chris Katongo | Greece, AO Skoda Xanthi | $315,300 | $985 |
| Zimbabwe | Benjani Mwaruwari | EPL, Blackburn Rovers | $3,405,584 | $324 |
There you have it. Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest paid footballer in the world with a staggering $19.5 million dollar a year wage bill. Thanks to Carlos Tevez for being the highest paid footballer from Argentina, Lionel Messi does not make it to this list.
Also see: Highest Football Club Wages
Source: ESPN.
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