Pedro Oliveira
Elite soccer has always been found on the European continent. Although there are rising markets that can offer bigger compensation to Latin American stars, few initially take this choice, but they sometimes do so towards the end of their careers.
In the meantime, the European market continues to offer an unmatched prestige and level of competitiveness, and despite its competition, there are very high salaries to benchmark. In this list, we bring you the 5 Latin American players who currently enjoy the highest salaries on the old continent.
So, we present the ranking of the highest paid Latin American footballers who display their talent on the European continent.
Note: We decided not to include Brazilian players even though we know they are also Latinos, as they would dominate the list. Just to clarify: we include only salaries given by the team, not anything from outside sources such as sponsorships, national team, etc.
5.- Angel Di María – Paris Saint-Germain
The arrival of the Argentine star to the Parisian team took place in 2015. Coming from Manchester United, he would sign for four years, with a transfer fee of around €52 million agreed upon.
Since his arrival, he has won 17 titles for PSG including three French league titles, five French Cups, four French League Cups, four French Super Cups and one Champions League final, in addition to scoring 91 goals and 115 assists in 282 appearances.
“Fideo” renewed his contract with the capital club in 2021 to remain in Ligue 1 for a salary of roughly €13.2 million until 2022, with an option to extend until 2023.
4.- Paulo Dybala – Juventus
Despite the rumors surrounding “La Joya” regarding his renewal with Juventus, the striker still remains one of the highest paid athletes in all of Italy and Europe. Having renewed his contract in 2017 for five years, the 28-year-old veteran is earning an estimated €13.5 million.
Dybala, who joined Juventus from Palermo for a reported €30 million in 2015, has been one of the Italian giant’s most significant players over the last five years, and many regard him as the team’s star player.
Scoring 111 goals and 46 assists in 277 games for Juventus, he has won a total of 11 titles, with five Serie A, four Coppa Italia, three Italian Super Cups and one Champions League final.
3.- Edinson Cavani – Manchester United
Even at the age of 35, the veteran Uruguayan continues to perform at the greatest level and is one of Manchester United’s most popular strikers. When he arrived in the Premier League as a free agency in 2020, he signed a one-year, €15.5 million contract (making him the third highest paid Latino player in Europe), with an option to extend for another year, which he exercised near the end of last season.
Since then, he has scored 19 goals in 53 games for the Red Devils along with seven assists.“El Matador” still continues his career while performing greatly on the field. Meanwhile, both United and Cavani are still waiting to celebrate their first title together.
2.- Luis Suárez – Atlético Madrid
After his departure from Barcelona in 2020, the switch to Atlético Madrid was almost immediate, signing a two-year contract with the “Colchoneros”. This was a deal that would end up being one of the best signings during the 2020-2021 season, as he was the top scorer in a team that was en route to being crowned La Liga champions after seven years without reaching the top spot in the competition.
The Uruguayan is the second highest-paid Latin American footballer in Europe, with a salary of approximately €15.62 million.
At the age of 35, he has remained among the elite of European soccer, with 30 goals and five assists in 67 appearances for Madrid.
1.- Lionel Messi – Paris Saint-Germain
In what is perhaps the most important and on-the-spotlight transfer so far this 2021-2022 season, “La Pulga” left FC Barcelona and decided to look for a club that could match his ambition, finding it in French giants PSG.
The Ligue 1 runner-up secured the services of who is considered one of the best players in history, even at 34 years old, by signing a two-year contract with an option for an extra season and agreeing to an extravagant salary of roughly €63.62 million. This salary ensures the Argentinean’s first place in the ranking of the highest-paid Latin American footballers in Europe, and surely one of the highest in the world.
Through his adjustment to the team, a couple of injuries and COVID-19 infections, Messi has been able to make his mark early on in the Parisian side, collecting six goals and six assists in 17 games played.
