10 Highest-Paid Wingers in World Football (2025)

Pace, skill and flair – all words you’d associate with a world-class winger. They are the most attractive kind of footballer to watch, ones that get you out of your seat in excitement and hope. Their unique playstyle comes with its disadvantages though, and clubs need a pretty lucrative bank to acquire the services of the top wide players in the world.

The constant evolution of the Saudi Pro League has made it increasingly difficult for some of the best clubs in the world to compete, with the likes of Ah Ahli and Al-Hilal spending big money on players. Offering a winger a luxury wage is a big risk, and you’ve just got to hope the expensive deal doesn’t make the player lose touch with reality. With that being said, let’s look at the teams that have taken this risk and count down the ten highest-earning wingers in world football right now.

10 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

£260,843 a week

Being head to head against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is a scenario that defenders, and commentators for that matter, don’t really want to become involved in. Georgia hasn’t been known for its creation of footballing talent over the years, but Kvaratskhelia has hit the world stage with Napoli, and now Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite impressing in Naples, the winger wanted a new challenge and, ineffectively, handed in a transfer request. Ligue 1 came calling for Kvaratskhelia, moving to Paris for a reported £59 million in January 2025. Although the magnitude of joining the biggest team in France is attractive in itself, it’s fair to say the £260,000 a week offer was something the Georgian could not refuse.

9 Kingsley Coman

£271,047 a week

The amount of league winners’ medals that Kingsley Coman must have hanging up in his trophy cabinet is absurd. Until 2024, the French winger topped the table every single season with his club – that’s a title ten years in a row. Being a trophy magnet, top teams were always going to keep a keen eye on his progress.

However, Coman has found a comfort blanket at Bayern Munich, playing football in Bavaria for almost a decade. He’s won everything there is to win in the sport, but football fans can’t help but feel sorry for a player whose frequent injuries stopped him from showcasing his full talent. In response to his loyalty, Bayern Munich awarded Coman an honourable income upon his contract extension in 2022.

8 Malcom

£286,991 a week

With some of the biggest stars in the world jetting off to Saudi Arabia, Malcom’s move to Al Hilal went somewhat under the radar. A player with only two Brazil caps to his name shouldn’t be earning anywhere near £300,000 a week, especially following his failed move to Barcelona back in 2018.

When Al Hilal splashed the money to lure Malcom from Zenit St. Petersburg, they had a vision that he was going to be an important individual for them in their quest for domestic glory. His stats in the Saudi Pro League are, in fact, very impressive, boasting 58 goal contributions in just 82 games. He’s a winger that has realised his quality isn’t enough to cut it at some of the biggest leagues in the world, but knows he can do an excellent job in a competition with less talent.

7 Jack Grealish

£300,000 a week

Jack Grealish’s move to Manchester City was the biggest deal in British football history at the time, with the transfer earning a well-rounded appreciation from most Premier League fans. The clever attributes that the winger showcased at Villa Park were rarely seen again, and Pep Guardiola has failed to get the best out of a player who was once the most sought-after in the division.

A £300,000 a week wage bill probably didn’t help Grealish’s tenure in Manchester as he was known for being a bit troublesome during his time at Aston Villa. There hasn’t been any real movement from the winger’s side to move onto seeking new challenges, and why would he when he’s the second highest-earning winger in the Premier League?

6 Serge Gnabry

£300,862 a week

Back in 2015, if you told Tony Pulis that Serge Gnabry was going to be earning over £300,000 a week in ten years, he would have scoffed in your face. Pulis met with the winger during his time at West Brom, when Gnabry was sent out on loan from Arsenal to earn some game time. However, he failed to impress his temporary boss and only played 12 minutes of Premier League football for the Baggies.

His transformation from zero to hero stunned everyone involved in the footballing world. The German felt comfortable playing in his own country, excelling for both Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich. He’s been one of the latters best players over the last seven years, earning a deserved status as a club legend in the city.

5 Ousmane Dembélé

£318,935 a week

Ousmane Dembélé holds an impressive CV, taking to the pitch for the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. The Frenchman – one of the most two-footed players in the world right now – has been criticised for his final product. There was no doubting that he had bags of ability, but football fans wanted him to deliver the output that reflected his talent.

His goal-tally for a single season hadn’t reached the golden ten mark since the 2015/16 season during his time at Rennes. However, Dembélé has started to find his feet at new club, Paris Saint-Germain. Much like Gnabry, he’s been producing his best output in his home country. At the age of 27, supporters at the Parc des Princes are finally seeing the underlying brilliance of Dembélé, with some touting him as the ‘best player in the world’.

4 Vinícius Júnior

£332,112 a week

It’s been common knowledge that Real Madrid has been home to some of the best talent the sport has to offer. Ronaldo Nazario, Kaka, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema – to name a few. Vinícius Júnior became the new kid on the block in 2018 following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Brazilian had huge shoes to fill.

The Santiago Bernabéu has been the stage for Vinícius Júnior to display his excellence and, despite his young age, the winger has done just that. A Ballon d’Or seems practically guaranteed for the Los Blancos star in the future, even after the heartbreaking defeat to Manchester City’s Rodri last time round. The £332,000 a week in his pocket is a well-warranted reward for being one of the posterboys of the modern game.

3 Mohamed Salah

£350,000 a week

While on the subject of the Ballon d’Or, it seems convenient that the next player on this list is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian is predicted to run away with the trophy at the end of 2025, with the forward having a record-breaking season at Anfield.

Alongside news bites of his performances, headlines have been dominated by Salah’s contract situation. Being one of the greatest Liverpool players of all time, he has been left disappointed by the Reds’ lack of communication surrounding a new deal. Having a substantial wage of £350,000 a week, the Merseyside club will need to decide whether it is worth keeping the 32-year-old on their books for another campaign.

2 Sadio Mané

£637,758 a week

The Saudi Pro League was a relatively unknown competition before a whole load of money was pumped in, and now, a move to Asia is one of the most attractive scenarios out there. Players, much like Sadio Mané, have priortised money over minutes in the latter stages of their career and sacrificed a good few years for the valuable income.

Joining up with Cristiano Ronaldo was one thing, but the near £650,000 a week that Mane would be earning was the nail in the coffin. His performances at Liverpool and Southampton made Premier League fans accept his willingness to accept Al Nassr’s proposal, deciding that if anyone was going to earn that much money, it had to be someone who deserved it.

1 Riyad Mahrez

£832,274 a week

Riyad Mahrez became a very impactful jigsaw piece in Leicester’s unexpected league title win of 2015. Known for his unpredictability with the ball, as well as an exquisite touch, Mahrez jumped at the opportunity to join Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

After five years at the Etihad, the Algerian started to get bored with winning league titles and realised he had practically completed everything he set out to do in England. Mahrez called a halt to his Premier League journey at the age of 32, accepting a proposal from Saudi giants Al Ahli. According to Capology, the winger is the third highest-earner in the league, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.