When it comes down to it this is what the players are actually taking home.
There aren’t many that would dispute that footballers get paid astronomical wages, with Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney having recently signed a new £300,000-a-week deal.
However, how much the players actually see in their accounts varies wildly from what they earn, depending on which tax bracket (i.e. which country) they live in.
In many western European nations taxes are extremely high, which is why Russian star Andrey Arshavin was so shocked when he saw how much was being taken out of his pay packet when first moving to Arsenal.
It was also why the rest of Ligue 1 were up in arms when AS Monaco attracted some of the world’s best talent to the club, as Monaco is a Principality and has no taxes – unlike mainland France.
Therefore whatever they pay their players the stars take home, making a move to the Stade Louis II an even more attractive prospect than it would have been anyway.
So whilst Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest paid footballer on the planet, is the Portugal captain taking the most home?
Let’s find out with the top 10 highest paid players after tax, with statistics courtesy of the Mirror.
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