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2. BUNDESLIGA · MIDFIELDERS · 2026/27

Highest paid 2. Bundesliga midfielders

Maximilian Arnold is the best-paid midfielder in the 2. Bundesliga, on £74,000 a week at VfL Wolfsburg, or £3,848,000 a year. Christian Eriksen is next on £60,000 at VfL Wolfsburg. We hold wages for 142 2. Bundesliga midfielders in 2026/27.

BEST PAID £74k
AVERAGE WAGE £11,170
SHARE OF WAGE BILL26%
TOP 10 A WEEK £406k
WAGES HELD142

The 50 best-paid 2. Bundesliga midfielders

Weekly wage, 2026/27. A player who plays in two areas of the pitch is on both lists, at the full wage.

The best-paid midfielders in the 2. Bundesliga in 2026/27, ranked by weekly wage, with the yearly wage, club, age, position and nationality.
# PLAYER WEEKLY YEARLY CLUB AGE POSITION NATION
1 Maximilian Arnold £74,000£74k £3,848,000£3.8m VfL Wolfsburg 31 Defensive midfielder Germany
2 Christian Eriksen £60,000£60k £3,120,000£3.1m VfL Wolfsburg 33 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Denmark
3 Mattias Svanberg £46,000£46k £2,392,000£2.4m VfL Wolfsburg 26 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Sweden
4 Yannick Gerhardt £42,000£42k £2,184,000£2.2m VfL Wolfsburg 31 Left-back, defensive midfielder Germany
5 Vinicius Souza £38,000£38k £1,976,000£2.0m VfL Wolfsburg 26 Defensive midfielder Brazil
6 Aster Vranckx £36,000£36k £1,872,000£1.9m VfL Wolfsburg 22 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Belgium
7 Rogério £31,000£31k £1,612,000£1.6m VfL Wolfsburg 27 Left-back, left midfielder Brazil
8 Marcel Hartel £30,000£30k £1,560,000£1.6m Hannover 96 29 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Germany
9 Elvis Rexhbeçaj £27,000£27k £1,404,000£1.4m VfL Wolfsburg 27 Defensive midfielder Kosovo
10 Eric Smith £22,000£22k £1,144,000£1.1m FC St. Pauli 28 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Sweden
11 Hauke Wahl £21,000£21k £1,092,000£1.1m VfL Wolfsburg 31 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany
12 Diego Demme £19,000£19k £988,000£988k Hertha BSC 33 Defensive midfielder Germany
13 Márton Dárdai £19,000£19k £988,000£988k Hertha BSC 23 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Hungary
14 Bence Dárdai £17,000£17k £884,000£884k VfL Wolfsburg 19 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Hungary
15 Adrian Beck £16,000£16k £832,000£832k VfL Osnabrück 28 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Germany
16 Jan Schöppner £15,000£15k £780,000£780k 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 26 Defensive midfielder Germany
17 Connor Metcalfe £15,000£15k £780,000£780k FC St. Pauli 25 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Australia
18 Boris Tomiak £15,000£15k £780,000£780k Hannover 96 26 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany
19 Christian Clemens £15,000£15k £780,000£780k SV Darmstadt 98 28 Wide midfielder, winger Germany
20 Joel Chima Fujita £14,000£14k £728,000£728k FC St. Pauli 23 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Japan
21 Adam Dźwigała £13,000£13k £676,000£676k FC St. Pauli 29 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Poland
22 Kevin Sessa £13,000£13k £676,000£676k Hertha BSC 25 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Germany
23 Karol Mets £13,000£13k £676,000£676k VfL Bochum 1848 32 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Estonia
24 Julian Niehues £12,000£12k £624,000£624k 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 24 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany
25 Luca Kerber £12,000£12k £624,000£624k 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 23 Defensive midfielder Germany
26 Finn Becker £12,000£12k £624,000£624k 1. FC Nürnberg 25 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Germany
27 Fabian Kunze £12,000£12k £624,000£624k 1. FC Kaiserslautern 27 Defensive midfielder Germany
28 Henri Koudossou £11,000£11k £572,000£572k DSC Arminia Bielefeld 25 Full-back, right midfielder Germany
29 Mathias Rasmussen £11,000£11k £572,000£572k FC St. Pauli 27 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Norway
30 Matthias Zimmermann £11,000£11k £572,000£572k Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 33 Right-back, defensive midfielder Germany
31 Paul Seguin £11,000£11k £572,000£572k Hertha BSC 30 Defensive midfielder Germany
32 Semih Şahin £11,000£11k £572,000£572k 1. FC Kaiserslautern 25 Defensive midfielder Germany
33 Tim Siersleben £10,000£10k £520,000£520k 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 25 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany
34 Leon Jensen £10,000£10k £520,000£520k DSC Arminia Bielefeld 28 Defensive midfielder Germany
35 Robert Wagner £10,000£10k £520,000£520k Dynamo Dresden 22 Defensive midfielder Germany
36 Lino Tempelmann £10,000£10k £520,000£520k Eintracht Braunschweig 26 Defensive midfielder Germany
37 Sebastian Schonlau £9,000£9k £468,000£468k Holstein Kiel 30 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany
38 Mathys Angely £9,000£9k £468,000£468k VfL Wolfsburg 18 Centre-back, defensive midfielder France
39 Maximilian Wittek £8,900£9k £462,800£463k VfL Bochum 1848 29 Left-back, left midfielder Germany
40 Felipe Chávez £8,300£8k £431,600£432k 1. FC Magdeburg 18 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Peru
41 Fabian Nürnberger £8,300£8k £431,600£432k SV Darmstadt 98 25 Left-back, defensive midfielder Bulgaria
42 Giovanni Haag £8,200£8k £426,400£426k Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 25 Defensive midfielder France
43 Javier Fernández £8,100£8k £421,200£421k 1. FC Nürnberg 18 Defensive midfielder Spain
44 Jonas Sterner £8,100£8k £421,200£421k Dynamo Dresden 23 Right-back, central midfielder Germany
45 Jonas Meffert £8,100£8k £421,200£421k Holstein Kiel 30 Defensive midfielder Germany
46 Kai Klefisch £8,000£8k £416,000£416k SV Darmstadt 98 25 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany
47 Marvin Mehlem £7,900£8k £410,800£411k DSC Arminia Bielefeld 27 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Germany
48 Moritz Heyer £7,900£8k £410,800£411k Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 30 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany
49 Patrice Covic £7,800£8k £405,600£406k Dynamo Dresden 18 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Croatia
50 Pascal Klemens £7,800£8k £405,600£406k Hertha BSC 20 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany

What each position earns in the 2. Bundesliga

Average weekly wage of the players aged 22 or over we hold a wage for

Goalkeepers £4,703 Defenders £8,296 Midfielders £11k Attackers £9,170

Midfielders take 26% of what the 2. 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 midfielders the most

Every midfielder wage we hold at each 2. Bundesliga club, added together, a week

VfL Wolfsburg £406k FC St. Pauli £95k Hannover 96 £78k Hertha BSC £77k Dynamo Dresden £59k VfL Bochum 1848 £59k DSC Arminia Bielefeld £56k SV Darmstadt 98 £54k 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 £50k Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 £50k

VfL Wolfsburg pay 12 midfielders £405,800 a week between them, and Maximilian Arnold takes 18% of it.

The best-paid midfielder at every 2. Bundesliga club

19 clubs, 2026/27, with where each ranks among the league's midfielders

Each 2. Bundesliga club's best-paid midfielder in 2026/27, the weekly wage, and that player's rank among every midfielder in the league.
CLUB PLAYER WEEKLY RANK
VfL Wolfsburg Maximilian Arnold £74,000£74k 1
Hannover 96 Marcel Hartel £30,000£30k 8
FC St. Pauli Eric Smith £22,000£22k 10
Hertha BSC Diego Demme £19,000£19k 12
VfL Osnabrück Adrian Beck £16,000£16k 15
SV Darmstadt 98 Christian Clemens £15,000£15k 19
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 Jan Schöppner £15,000£15k 16
VfL Bochum 1848 Karol Mets £13,000£13k 23
1. FC Kaiserslautern Fabian Kunze £12,000£12k 27
1. FC Nürnberg Finn Becker £12,000£12k 26
DSC Arminia Bielefeld Henri Koudossou £11,000£11k 28
Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 Matthias Zimmermann £11,000£11k 30
Dynamo Dresden Robert Wagner £10,000£10k 35
Eintracht Braunschweig Lino Tempelmann £10,000£10k 36
Holstein Kiel Sebastian Schonlau £9,000£9k 37
1. FC Magdeburg Felipe Chávez £8,300£8k 40
SpVgg Greuther Fürth Paul Will £7,800£8k 51
Karlsruher SC Christoph Kobald £6,400£6k 72
FC Energie Cottbus King Manu £2,000£2k 119

The best-paid midfielder in every men's league

43 leagues, ordered by their best-paid midfielder. The 2. Bundesliga ranks 14th.

The best-paid midfielder in each men's league we rank midfielders in, the weekly wage, and the league's average midfielder wage over players aged 22 or over.
LEAGUE BEST PAID WEEKLY AVERAGE
Saudi Pro League Otávio £472,000£472k £49,687£50k
Süper Lig N'Golo Kanté £348,000£348k £21,488£21k
Bundesliga Joshua Kimmich £315,000£315k £39,483£39k
Premier League Bruno Fernandes £300,000£300k £76,710£77k
Major League Soccer Casemiro £300,000£300k £11,731£12k
Ligue 1 Marquinhos £279,000£279k £30,015£30k
La Liga Trent Alexander-Arnold £249,000£249k £40,838£41k
Serie A John Stones £200,000£200k £44,528£45k
Primeira Liga João Palhinha £199,000£199k £11,158£11k
Championship Kalvin Phillips £165,000£165k £20,131£20k
Croatian First League Ismaël Bennacer £117,000£117k £4,206£4k
Brasileirão Série A Arthur £99,000£99k £10,842£11k
Eredivisie Lutsharel Geertruida £99,000£99k £9,142£9k
2. Bundesliga Maximilian Arnold £74,000£74k £11,170£11k
Russian Premier League Wendel £71,000£71k £16,664£17k
Liga MX Carlos Gruezo £64,000£64k £6,811£7k
League One Boubakary Soumaré £58,000£58k £6,405£6k
Serie B Ali Al Musrati £55,000£55k £8,344£8k
La Liga 2 Donny van de Beek £54,000£54k £5,199£5k
Super Liga Leandro Paredes £44,000£44k £4,100£4k
Chinese Super League Ibrahim Amadou £42,000£42k £5,544£6k
Scottish Premiership Callum McGregor £39,000£39k £5,790£6k
J1 League Oriol Romeu £35,000£35k £4,063£4k
Danish Superliga Philip Billing £35,000£35k £7,123£7k
Superleague Greece Christos Zafeiris £33,000£33k £7,533£8k
Czech First League Sivert Mannsverk £33,000£33k £2,010£2k
Belgian Pro League László Bénes £25,000£25k £6,702£7k
Ekstraklasa Karol Linetty £25,000£25k £3,410£3k
Ligue 2 Ibou Sissoko £21,000£21k £4,966£5k
Austrian Bundesliga Bendegúz Bolla £20,000£20k £3,500£4k
Belgian Challenger Pro League Mats Rits £16,000£16k £2,048£2k
Eliteserien Hrannar Snær Magnússon £13,000£13k £2,231£2k
League Two Joe Williams £12,000£12k £2,560£3k
Categoría Primera A Élan Ricardo £11,000£11k £3,852£4k
Thai League Roque Mesa £8,000£8k £2,247£2k
Indian Super League Lalengmawia £5,500£6k £707£707
Veikkausliiga Alexander Ring £4,500£5k £708£708
Scottish Championship Graeme Shinnie £4,200£4k £907£907
National League Jake Rooney £4,100£4k £1,293£1k
A-League Jake Girdwood-Reich £4,100£4k £1,219£1k
I-League Jordi Altena £3,100£3k £364£364
Canadian Premier League Manuel Aparicio £810£810 £458£458
Meistriliiga Modou Tambedou £484£484 £161£161

Frequently asked questions

Who is the highest paid midfielder in the 2. Bundesliga?

Maximilian Arnold of VfL Wolfsburg, on £74,000 a week in 2026/27, or £3,848,000 a year. Christian Eriksen of VfL Wolfsburg is second on £60,000 a week.

How much do 2. Bundesliga midfielders earn?

The average 2. Bundesliga midfielder aged 22 or over earns £11,170 a week, and the median one £7,500. Midfielders take 26% of what the 2. Bundesliga pays its players of that age.

Which 2. Bundesliga club pays its midfielders the most?

VfL Wolfsburg, £405,800 a week across the 12 midfielders we hold a wage for, led by Maximilian Arnold on £74,000.

Who is the highest paid midfielder in football?

Of the 43 men's leagues we rank midfielders in, the best-paid is Otávio of Al-Qadsiah Football Club in the Saudi Pro League, on £472,000 a week. The best-paid in the 2. Bundesliga ranks 14th of the 43 leagues on that measure.

Where to next

The same 2. Bundesliga squads, cut a different way

See the highest paid 2. Bundesliga players in every position, the best-paid player at every club, what 2. Bundesliga players are paid at every age, or the 2. Bundesliga wage bill, club by club.