AUSTRIAN BUNDESLIGA · DEFENDERS · 2026/27
Highest paid Austrian Bundesliga defenders
Stefan Lainer and Joshua Quarshie are the best-paid defenders in the Austrian Bundesliga, on £21,000 a week each, or £1,092,000 a year. Bendegúz Bolla is next on £20,000 at Sportklub Rapid. We hold wages for 111 Austrian Bundesliga defenders in 2026/27.
BEST PAID £21k
AVERAGE WAGE £4,095
SHARE OF WAGE BILL28%
TOP 10 A WEEK £163k
WAGES HELD111
The 50 best-paid Austrian Bundesliga defenders
Weekly wage, 2026/27. A player who plays in two areas of the pitch is on both lists, at the full wage.
| # | PLAYER | WEEKLY | YEARLY | CLUB | AGE | POSITION | NATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefan Lainer | £21,000£21k | £1,092,000£1.1m | Fussballclub RB Salzburg | 32 | Right-back | Austria |
| 2 | Joshua Quarshie | £21,000£21k | £1,092,000£1.1m | Sportklub Sturm Graz | 20 | Centre-back | Germany |
| 3 | Bendegúz Bolla | £20,000£20k | £1,040,000£1.0m | Sportklub Rapid | 25 | Right-back, right midfielder | Hungary |
| 4 | Frans Krätzig | £19,000£19k | £988,000£988k | Fussballclub RB Salzburg | 22 | Left-back, defensive midfielder | Germany |
| 5 | Paul Koller | £18,000£18k | £936,000£936k | Sportklub Sturm Graz | 23 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Austria |
| 6 | Clement Bischoff | £17,000£17k | £884,000£884k | Fussballclub RB Salzburg | 19 | Left wing-back, left winger | Denmark |
| 7 | Anrie Chase | £13,000£13k | £676,000£676k | Fussballclub RB Salzburg | 21 | Centre-back | Japan |
| 8 | Nikolas Veratschnig | £12,000£12k | £624,000£624k | Fussballclub RB Salzburg | 22 | Right-back | Austria |
| 9 | Leandro Morgalla | £11,000£11k | £572,000£572k | Fussballclub RB Salzburg | 20 | Centre-back | Germany |
| 10 | Tim Drexler | £11,000£11k | £572,000£572k | Fussballclub RB Salzburg | 20 | Centre-back | Germany |
| 11 | Konstantin Schopp | £10,000£10k | £520,000£520k | Turn- und Sportverein Hartberg | 19 | Centre-back | Austria |
| 12 | Serge Raux-Yao | £8,600£9k | £447,200£447k | Sportklub Rapid | 26 | Centre-back | France |
| 13 | Aleksandar Dragovic | £8,500£9k | £442,000£442k | Fussballklub Austria Vienna | 34 | Centre-back | Austria |
| 14 | Alessandro Schöpf | £8,500£9k | £442,000£442k | Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub | 31 | Right wing-back, attacking midfielder | Austria |
| 15 | Andres Andrade | £8,500£9k | £442,000£442k | Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub | 26 | Centre-back | Panama |
| 16 | Danilo Soares | £7,400£7k | £384,800£385k | SC Austria Lustenau | 33 | Left-back | Brazil |
| 17 | Jon Stankovič | £7,100£7k | £369,200£369k | Sportklub Sturm Graz | 29 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Slovenia |
| 18 | Oliver Sorg | £6,800£7k | £353,600£354k | Sportvereinigung Ried | 17 | Left-back | Austria |
| 19 | Ange Ahoussou | £6,500£7k | £338,000£338k | Sportklub Rapid | 21 | Centre-back | Côte d’Ivoire |
| 20 | Nenad Cvetković | £5,900£6k | £306,800£307k | Sportklub Rapid | 29 | Centre-back | Serbia |
| 21 | Nicolas Wimmer | £5,900£6k | £306,800£307k | Wolfsberger Athletiksport Club | 30 | Centre-back | Austria |
| 22 | Reinhold Ranftl | £5,700£6k | £296,400£296k | Fussballklub Austria Vienna | 33 | Right-back, right midfielder | Austria |
| 23 | Benjamin Böckle | £5,500£6k | £286,000£286k | Sportclub Rheindorf Altach | 23 | Left-back, left midfielder | Austria |
| 24 | Albert Vallci | £5,500£6k | £286,000£286k | Sportklub Sturm Graz | 30 | Centre-back | Austria |
| 25 | George Bello | £5,200£5k | £270,400£270k | Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub | 23 | Left-back, left midfielder | United States |
| 26 | Harisson Marcelin (Jean Marcelin) | £5,100£5k | £265,200£265k | Sportklub Rapid | 25 | Centre-back | Madagascar |
| 27 | Jannes Horn | £5,100£5k | £265,200£265k | Sportklub Rapid | 28 | Centre-back, left midfielder | Germany |
| 28 | Leon Klassen | £5,000£5k | £260,000£260k | Grazer AK 1902 | 25 | Left-back | Russia |
| 29 | Kasper Jørgensen | £5,000£5k | £260,000£260k | Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub | 25 | Centre-back | Denmark |
| 30 | Martin Atemengue | £4,900£5k | £254,800£255k | Sportklub Rapid | 22 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Cameroon |
| 31 | Tobias Børkeeiet | £4,600£5k | £239,200£239k | Sportklub Rapid | 26 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Norway |
| 32 | Boris Matić | £4,500£5k | £234,000£234k | Wolfsberger Athletiksport Club | 20 | Right-back, right winger | Serbia |
| 33 | Xavier Mbuyamba | £4,400£4k | £228,800£229k | Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub | 23 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Netherlands |
| 34 | Lukas Jäger | £4,000£4k | £208,000£208k | Sportclub Rheindorf Altach | 31 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Austria |
| 35 | Lukas Gugganig | £4,000£4k | £208,000£208k | Sportclub Rheindorf Altach | 30 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Austria |
| 36 | Benedikt Zech | £3,500£4k | £182,000£182k | Sportclub Rheindorf Altach | 34 | Defender | Austria |
| 37 | Arjan Malic | £3,500£4k | £182,000£182k | Sportklub Sturm Graz | 19 | Centre-back | Bosnia & Herzegovina |
| 38 | David Gugganig | £3,400£3k | £176,800£177k | Wattener Sportgemeinschaft Tirol | 28 | Centre-back | Austria |
| 39 | Florian Flecker | £3,300£3k | £171,600£172k | Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub | 29 | Right wing-back, winger | Austria |
| 40 | John Mellberg | £3,100£3k | £161,200£161k | Fussballclub RB Salzburg | 18 | Centre-back | Sweden |
| 41 | Johannes Handl | £3,100£3k | £161,200£161k | Fussballklub Austria Vienna | 27 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Austria |
| 42 | Jonas Auer | £3,100£3k | £161,200£161k | Sportklub Rapid | 24 | Left-back, left winger | Austria |
| 43 | Lukas Spendlhofer | £3,000£3k | £156,000£156k | Turn- und Sportverein Hartberg | 32 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Austria |
| 44 | Melayro Bogarde | £2,900£3k | £150,800£151k | Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub | 23 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Suriname |
| 45 | Niklas Geyrhofer | £2,900£3k | £150,800£151k | Sportklub Sturm Graz | 25 | Centre-back | Austria |
| 46 | Michael Sollbauer | £2,900£3k | £150,800£151k | Sportvereinigung Ried | 35 | Centre-back | Austria |
| 47 | Oliver Steurer | £2,800£3k | £145,600£146k | Sportvereinigung Ried | 30 | Centre-back | Germany |
| 48 | Rene Renner | £2,700£3k | £140,400£140k | Wolfsberger Athletiksport Club | 31 | Left-back, wide midfielder | Austria |
| 49 | Tobias Kainz | £2,600£3k | £135,200£135k | Turn- und Sportverein Hartberg | 32 | Right-back, defensive midfielder | Austria |
| 50 | Art Smakaj | £2,500£3k | £130,000£130k | Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub | 22 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Kosovo |
What each position earns in the Austrian Bundesliga
Average weekly wage of the players aged 22 or over we hold a wage for
Defenders take 28% of what the Austrian Bundesliga pays its players of that age. The four shares add up to the whole bill, because a player who plays in two areas gives half the wage to each.
The clubs that pay their defenders the most
Every defender wage we hold at each Austrian Bundesliga club, added together, a week
Fussballclub RB Salzburg pay 9 defenders £109,100 a week between them, and Stefan Lainer takes 19% of it.
The best-paid defender at every Austrian Bundesliga club
12 clubs, 2026/27, with where each ranks among the league's defenders
| CLUB | PLAYER | WEEKLY | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fussballclub RB Salzburg | Stefan Lainer | £21,000£21k | 1 |
| Sportklub Sturm Graz | Joshua Quarshie | £21,000£21k | 2 |
| Sportklub Rapid | Bendegúz Bolla | £20,000£20k | 3 |
| Turn- und Sportverein Hartberg | Konstantin Schopp | £10,000£10k | 11 |
| Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub | Alessandro Schöpf | £8,500£9k | 14 |
| Fussballklub Austria Vienna | Aleksandar Dragovic | £8,500£9k | 13 |
| SC Austria Lustenau | Danilo Soares | £7,400£7k | 16 |
| Sportvereinigung Ried | Oliver Sorg | £6,800£7k | 18 |
| Wolfsberger Athletiksport Club | Nicolas Wimmer | £5,900£6k | 21 |
| Sportclub Rheindorf Altach | Benjamin Böckle | £5,500£6k | 23 |
| Grazer AK 1902 | Leon Klassen | £5,000£5k | 28 |
| Wattener Sportgemeinschaft Tirol | David Gugganig | £3,400£3k | 38 |
The best-paid defender in every men's league
43 leagues, ordered by their best-paid defender. The Austrian Bundesliga ranks 27th.
| LEAGUE | BEST PAID | WEEKLY | AVERAGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Pro League | Kalidou Koulibaly | £497,000£497k | £40,351£40k |
| Premier League | Virgil van Dijk | £350,000£350k | £69,840£70k |
| Bundesliga | Dayot Upamecano | £331,000£331k | £42,331£42k |
| Ligue 1 | Lucas Hernández | £316,000£316k | £27,702£28k |
| La Liga | João Cancelo | £249,000£249k | £37,418£37k |
| Serie A | John Stones | £200,000£200k | £36,415£36k |
| Süper Lig | Milan Škriniar | £166,000£166k | £15,078£15k |
| Superleague Greece | Stefan de Vrij | £117,000£117k | £10,420£10k |
| Championship | Kieran Trippier | £115,000£115k | £18,082£18k |
| Eredivisie | Lutsharel Geertruida | £99,000£99k | £8,088£8k |
| Major League Soccer | Jordi Alba | £85,000£85k | £7,805£8k |
| Scottish Premiership | Ben Godfrey | £80,000£80k | £5,860£6k |
| Primeira Liga | Jakub Kiwior | £58,000£58k | £5,910£6k |
| La Liga 2 | David López | £58,000£58k | £4,473£4k |
| Russian Premier League | Matheus Reis | £57,000£57k | £12,772£13k |
| Brasileirão Série A | Guillermo Maripán | £53,000£53k | £8,284£8k |
| Belgian Pro League | Matteo Dams | £49,000£49k | £5,133£5k |
| League One | Wes Morgan | £46,000£46k | £5,700£6k |
| 2. Bundesliga | Yannick Gerhardt | £42,000£42k | £8,296£8k |
| Super Liga | Nicolás Otamendi | £41,000£41k | £3,253£3k |
| Danish Superliga | Rasmus Kristensen | £39,000£39k | £5,418£5k |
| Ekstraklasa | Attila Szalai | £36,000£36k | £2,883£3k |
| Serie B | Federico Baschirotto | £33,000£33k | £6,876£7k |
| Czech First League | David Jurásek | £29,000£29k | £1,857£2k |
| Chinese Super League | Matheus Jussa (Matheus Isaias dos Santos) | £27,000£27k | £4,788£5k |
| Liga MX | Kenedy | £25,000£25k | £6,926£7k |
| Austrian Bundesliga | Stefan Lainer | £21,000£21k | £4,095£4k |
| Ligue 2 | Frédéric Guilbert | £18,000£18k | £4,556£5k |
| J1 League | Gotoku Sakai | £15,000£15k | £3,457£3k |
| Croatian First League | Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel | £15,000£15k | £2,078£2k |
| Thai League | Erik Sviatchenko | £14,000£14k | £2,172£2k |
| Eliteserien | Hrannar Snær Magnússon | £13,000£13k | £1,630£2k |
| Belgian Challenger Pro League | Thomas Foket | £8,600£9k | £1,529£2k |
| League Two | Alfie Dorrington | £8,500£9k | £2,352£2k |
| Categoría Primera A | Frank Fabra | £8,300£8k | £3,994£4k |
| Scottish Championship | Leon King | £8,000£8k | £952£952 |
| A-League | Jacob Farrell | £6,100£6k | £1,262£1k |
| Indian Super League | Anwar Ali | £4,500£5k | £595£595 |
| National League | Jake Rooney | £4,100£4k | £1,165£1k |
| I-League | Jamie McCart | £4,100£4k | £547£547 |
| Veikkausliiga | Alfie Cicale | £2,500£3k | £646£646 |
| Canadian Premier League | Curtis Ofori | £1,400£1k | £443£443 |
| Meistriliiga | Modou Tambedou | £484£484 | £152£152 |
Frequently asked questions
Who is the highest paid defender in the Austrian Bundesliga?
Stefan Lainer of Fussballclub RB Salzburg and Joshua Quarshie of Sportklub Sturm Graz, on £21,000 a week each in 2026/27, or £1,092,000 a year.
How much do Austrian Bundesliga defenders earn?
The average Austrian Bundesliga defender aged 22 or over earns £4,095 a week, and the median one £2,700. Defenders take 28% of what the Austrian Bundesliga pays its players of that age.
Which Austrian Bundesliga club pays its defenders the most?
Fussballclub RB Salzburg, £109,100 a week across the 9 defenders we hold a wage for, led by Stefan Lainer on £21,000.
Who is the highest paid defender in football?
Of the 43 men's leagues we rank defenders in, the best-paid is Kalidou Koulibaly of Al-Hilal Saudi Football Club in the Saudi Pro League, on £497,000 a week. The best-paid in the Austrian Bundesliga ranks 27th of the 43 leagues on that measure.
Where to next
The same Austrian Bundesliga squads, cut a different way
See the highest paid Austrian Bundesliga players in every position, the best-paid player at every club, what Austrian Bundesliga players are paid at every age, or the Austrian Bundesliga wage bill, club by club.