FOOTBALL · BULGARIA · 28 WAGES

Highest paid players from Bulgaria

Marin Petkov is the best paid player from Bulgaria at AU$117,180 a week. We hold a wage for 28 of the 45 players in the squads we track who give Bulgaria, and they earn AU$355,972 a week between them, across 16 leagues.

COMBINED WEEKLYAU$356k

COMBINED YEARLYAU$18.5m

PLAYERS IN SQUADS45

MOST AT ONE CLUB2 Cagliari Calcio

The best-paid XI from Bulgaria

The eleven highest-paid players from Bulgaria that fit a 4-3-3, ranked on club wage alone.

GK Stefan Smarkalev AU$6,804 SV Werder Bremen
D Valentin Antov AU$18,900 Associazione Calcio Monza
D Martin Georgiev AU$11,151 AEK Athens
D Hristiyan Petrov AU$6,048 sc Heerenveen
D Stefan Velkov AU$3,024 Vejle Boldklub
M Iliya Gruev AU$88,830 Leeds United
M Fabian Nürnberger AU$15,687 SV Darmstadt 98
M Edisson Jordanov AU$1,695 K Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen
A Marin Petkov AU$117,180 Al-Taawoun Football Club
A Kiril Despodov AU$41,580 AS PAOK Salonika
A Lukas Petkov AU$11,340 SV Elversberg

Combined AU$322,239 per week · AU$16,756,445 per year

Highest paid from Bulgaria

Top 28 by weekly wage, 100% of every Bulgaria wage we hold. Sortable.

The 28 highest paid footballers from Bulgaria. Sortable by player, age, weekly and yearly wage.
#	PLAYER	WEEKLY ▼	YEARLY	CLUB	LEAGUE	AGE	POSITION
01	Marin Petkov	AU$117,180	AU$6,093,360	Al-Taawoun Football Club	Saudi Pro League	21	AM RC
02	Iliya Gruev	AU$88,830	AU$4,619,160	Leeds United	Premier League	25	DM
03	Kiril Despodov	AU$41,580	AU$2,162,160	AS PAOK Salonika	Superleague Greece	28	AM RL, ST
04	Valentin Antov	AU$18,900	AU$982,800	Associazione Calcio Monza	Serie A	24	D C
05	Fabian Nürnberger	AU$15,687	AU$815,724	SV Darmstadt 98	2. Bundesliga	25	D/WB L, DM
06	Lukas Petkov	AU$11,340	AU$589,680	SV Elversberg	Bundesliga	24	AM RLC
07	Martin Georgiev	AU$11,151	AU$579,852	AEK Athens	Superleague Greece	19	D RC
08	Stefan Smarkalev	AU$6,804	AU$353,808	SV Werder Bremen	Bundesliga	18	GK
09	Dimitar Mitov	AU$6,426	AU$334,152	FC St. Pauli	2. Bundesliga	28	GK
10	Hristiyan Petrov	AU$6,048	AU$314,496	sc Heerenveen	Eredivisie	23	D LC

11	Martin Minchev	AU$5,481	AU$285,012	Cracovia	Ekstraklasa	24	AM RL, ST
12	Stefan Velkov	AU$3,024	AU$157,248	Vejle Boldklub	Danish Superliga	28	D C
13	Slavy	AU$3,024	AU$157,248	Ponferrada	Other clubs	23	ST
14	Bozhidar Kraev	AU$2,835	AU$147,420	Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club	A-League	28	AM LC
15	Antoni Nikolov	AU$2,835	AU$147,420	Futebol Clube do Porto	Primeira Liga	16	GK
16	Edisson Jordanov	AU$1,695	AU$88,157	K Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen	Belgian Challenger Pro League	32	D/WB RL, M R
17	Steven Petkov	AU$1,663	AU$86,486	Ponferrada	Other clubs	30	ST
18	Plamen Penev	AU$1,512	AU$78,624	Unione Sportiva Lecce	Serie A	17	GK
19	Petko Hristov	AU$1,512	AU$78,624	Spezia Calcio	Serie B	26	D C
20	Dimitar Papazov	AU$1,478	AU$76,855	Perugia	Other clubs	18	D LC, M L
21	Ricardo Fernandes	AU$1,323	AU$68,796	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	Primeira Liga	17	AM RL
22	Simeon Tsanev	AU$1,162	AU$60,442	SC Paderborn 07	Bundesliga	18	D C
23	Rosen Bozhinov	AU$1,045	AU$54,349	Pisa Sporting Club	Serie B	20	D C
24	Stanislav Shopov	AU$985	AU$51,204	NK Osijek	Croatian First League	23	AM RC
25	Atanas Kehayov	AU$851	AU$44,226	Cagliari Calcio	Serie A	18	GK
26	Martin Dimitrov	AU$648	AU$33,710	Unione Calcio Sampdoria	Serie B	18	D C
27	Martin Peychev	AU$539	AU$28,010	West Ham United	Championship	16	AM C
28	Ivan Sulev	AU$414	AU$21,523	Cagliari Calcio	Serie A	18	AM C

Where Bulgaria players play

Players we hold a wage for, and what each league pays them

16 leagues in all

Serie A

4 · AU$22k Bundesliga

3 · AU$19k Other clubs

3 · AU$6k Serie B

3 · AU$3k Superleague Greece

2 · AU$53k 2. Bundesliga

2 · AU$22k Primeira Liga

2 · AU$4k Saudi Pro League

1 · AU$117k Premier League

1 · AU$89k Eredivisie

1 · AU$6k Ekstraklasa

1 · AU$5k Danish Superliga

1 · AU$3k

What each position earns

Average weekly wage, and share of the Bulgaria wage total, across players aged 22 or over that we hold a wage for

Goalkeepers

AU$6,426 · 3%

Defenders

AU$7,811 · 18%

Midfielders

AU$35,403 · 47%

Attackers

AU$9,558 · 32%

Peak earning years

Average weekly wage by age band

AU$3k 16-19

AU$59k 20-22

AU$19k 23-25

AU$11k 26-28

AU$2k 29-31

AU$2k 32-34

AU$0 35+

Clubs with the most Bulgaria players

Current squads, counting players we hold a wage for

Cagliari Calcio 2

Ponferrada 2

AEK Athens 1

Al-Taawoun Football Club 1

AS PAOK Salonika 1

Associazione Calcio Monza 1

Cracovia 1

FC St. Pauli 1

Futebol Clube do Porto 1

K Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen 1

Leeds United 1 NK Osijek 1

Frequently asked questions

Players from Bulgaria

Who is the highest paid footballer from Bulgaria?

Marin Petkov of Al-Taawoun Football Club is the highest paid player from Bulgaria in our data, on AU$117,180 per week (AU$6,093,360 per year).

How much do players from Bulgaria earn?

We hold a wage for 28 of the 45 players from Bulgaria in our data, so an average across them would describe those 28 rather than Bulgaria as a whole. The 50 highest paid are listed above.

Which league has the most players from Bulgaria?

Serie A has the most, with 4 players from Bulgaria on wages we hold, ahead of Bundesliga on 3.

How many players from Bulgaria do you cover?

45 players in the current squads we track give their nationality as Bulgaria, and we hold a weekly wage for 28 of them (62%). Figures are club wages: this page is not a national-team squad.

Which club has the most players from Bulgaria?

Cagliari Calcio, with 2 players from Bulgaria in its current squad.

Every player from Bulgaria

11 with a page of their own, A-Z, including players we hold no current club for

A I K L M P S V

Other nations

Gambia 42 Georgia 38 Tunisia 38 Hungary 37 Angola 35 Burkina Faso 32 Suriname 32 Curaçao 28 Montenegro 26 Cape Verde 26 North Macedonia 22 Israel 22 South Africa 22 Zimbabwe 20

Every nation we hold wages for →