CHINESE SUPER LEAGUE · DEFENDERS · 2026/27
Highest paid Chinese Super League defenders
Matheus Jussa (Matheus Isaias dos Santos) is the best-paid defender in the Chinese Super League, on £27,000 a week at Chengdu Rongcheng, or £1,404,000 a year. Andrei Burcă is next on £25,000 at Yunnan Yukun. We hold wages for 137 Chinese Super League defenders in 2026/27.
BEST PAID £27k
AVERAGE WAGE £4,788
SHARE OF WAGE BILL26%
TOP 10 A WEEK £181k
WAGES HELD137
The 50 best-paid Chinese Super League 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 | Matheus Jussa (Matheus Isaias dos Santos) | £27,000£27k | £1,404,000£1.4m | Chengdu Rongcheng | 29 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Brazil |
| 2 | Andrei Burcă | £25,000£25k | £1,300,000£1.3m | Yunnan Yukun | 32 | Centre-back | Romania |
| 3 | Park Jin-Seob | £25,000£25k | £1,300,000£1.3m | Zhejiang FC | 29 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | South Korea |
| 4 | Lucas Possignolo | £17,000£17k | £884,000£884k | Zhejiang FC | 31 | Centre-back | Brazil |
| 5 | Aitor Córdoba | £16,000£16k | £832,000£832k | Tianjin Jinmen Tiger | 30 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Spain |
| 6 | Caio Vinícius | £16,000£16k | £832,000£832k | Yunnan Yukun | 26 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Brazil |
| 7 | Bruno Viana | £15,000£15k | £780,000£780k | Qingdao West Coast | 30 | Centre-back | Brazil |
| 8 | Uroš Spajic | £14,000£14k | £728,000£728k | Beijing Guo'an | 32 | Centre-back | Serbia |
| 9 | Abdulhamit | £13,000£13k | £676,000£676k | Beijing Guo'an | 27 | Defender | China PR |
| 10 | Wilson Manafá | £13,000£13k | £676,000£676k | Shanghai Shenhua | 30 | Full-back, right winger | Portugal |
| 11 | Deng Hanwen | £12,000£12k | £624,000£624k | Yunnan Yukun | 30 | Right-back, right midfielder | China PR |
| 12 | Fang Hao (Hao Fang) | £12,000£12k | £624,000£624k | Zhejiang FC | 25 | Right-back, winger | China PR |
| 13 | He Yiran | £11,000£11k | £572,000£572k | Chengdu Rongcheng | 20 | Defender | China PR |
| 14 | Li Ang (Ang Li) | £10,000£10k | £520,000£520k | Dalian Yingbo | 31 | Centre-back | China PR |
| 15 | Zhu Chenjie | £10,000£10k | £520,000£520k | Shanghai Shenhua | 24 | Centre-back | China PR |
| 16 | Li Shuai | £10,000£10k | £520,000£520k | Shanghai Port | 29 | Full-back | China PR |
| 17 | Zhang Linpeng | £10,000£10k | £520,000£520k | Shanghai Port | 36 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | China PR |
| 18 | Zhao Yuhao | £10,000£10k | £520,000£520k | Yunnan Yukun | 32 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | China PR |
| 19 | Nico Yennaris | £9,000£9k | £468,000£468k | Shanghai Shenhua | 32 | Right-back, defensive midfielder | China PR |
| 20 | Guilherme Ramos | £8,200£8k | £426,400£426k | Beijing Guo'an | 27 | Centre-back | Portugal |
| 21 | Jiang Shenglong | £8,100£8k | £421,200£421k | Shanghai Shenhua | 24 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | China PR |
| 22 | Stoppila Sunzu | £8,000£8k | £416,000£416k | Changchun Yatai | 36 | Centre-back | Zambia |
| 23 | Shi Ke (Ke Shi) | £8,000£8k | £416,000£416k | Yunnan Yukun | 32 | Centre-back | China PR |
| 24 | Samir Memisevic | £7,600£8k | £395,200£395k | Qingdao West Coast | 31 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Bosnia & Herzegovina |
| 25 | Yegor Sorokin | £7,300£7k | £379,600£380k | Chengdu Rongcheng | 29 | Centre-back | Russia |
| 26 | Gao Zhunyi | £7,200£7k | £374,400£374k | Shandong Taishan | 29 | Defender, defensive midfielder | China PR |
| 27 | Tyias Browning | £7,000£7k | £364,000£364k | Shanghai Port | 31 | Centre-back | China PR |
| 28 | Tang Miao (Miao Tang) | £7,000£7k | £364,000£364k | Yunnan Yukun | 34 | Right-back | China PR |
| 29 | Pedro Álvaro | £6,800£7k | £353,600£354k | Shandong Taishan | 25 | Centre-back | Portugal |
| 30 | Yaw Yeboah | £6,300£6k | £327,600£328k | Qingdao Hainiu | 28 | Left wing-back, winger | Ghana |
| 31 | Yang Shuai | £6,000£6k | £312,000£312k | Shanghai Shenhua | 28 | Centre-back | China PR |
| 32 | Álex Yang | £6,000£6k | £312,000£312k | Shanghai Port | 20 | Centre-back | China PR |
| 33 | Yue Xin | £6,000£6k | £312,000£312k | Shanghai Port | 29 | Left-back, left winger | China PR |
| 34 | Wang Zhen'ao | £6,000£6k | £312,000£312k | Shanghai Port | 25 | Full-back, winger | China PR |
| 35 | Wu Xinghan | £6,000£6k | £312,000£312k | Tianjin Jinmen Tiger | 32 | Full-back, winger | China PR |
| 36 | Zhang Yufeng | £6,000£6k | £312,000£312k | Yunnan Yukun | 27 | Right-back, defensive midfielder, central midfielder | China PR |
| 37 | Li Songyi | £6,000£6k | £312,000£312k | Yunnan Yukun | 32 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | China PR |
| 38 | Cao Yongjing | £5,400£5k | £280,800£281k | Beijing Guo'an | 28 | Right-back, attacking midfielder | China PR |
| 39 | Wei Zhen | £5,400£5k | £280,800£281k | Shanghai Port | 28 | Centre-back | China PR |
| 40 | Wang Shenchao | £5,400£5k | £280,800£281k | Shanghai Port | 36 | Defender | China PR |
| 41 | Cristian Salvador | £5,400£5k | £280,800£281k | Tianjin Jinmen Tiger | 30 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Spain |
| 42 | Yang Fan | £5,300£5k | £275,600£276k | Tianjin Jinmen Tiger | 29 | Centre-back | China PR |
| 43 | Hu Ruibao | £5,200£5k | £270,400£270k | Shenzhen Peng City | 28 | Centre-back | China PR |
| 44 | He Guan | £5,200£5k | £270,400£270k | Wuhan Three Towns | 32 | Centre-back | China PR |
| 45 | Jeremy Dudziak | £5,100£5k | £265,200£265k | Beijing Guo'an | 29 | Left-back, defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | Germany |
| 46 | Li Lei | £5,000£5k | £260,000£260k | Beijing Guo'an | 33 | Left-back, left midfielder | China PR |
| 47 | Lucas Maia | £5,000£5k | £260,000£260k | Henan FC | 32 | Centre-back | Brazil |
| 48 | Zheng Zheng | £5,000£5k | £260,000£260k | Shandong Taishan | 36 | Centre-back | China PR |
| 49 | Liu Binbin | £5,000£5k | £260,000£260k | Shandong Taishan | 32 | Right-back, winger | China PR |
| 50 | Liu Yang | £5,000£5k | £260,000£260k | Shandong Taishan | 30 | Left-back, left winger | China PR |
What each position earns in the Chinese Super League
Average weekly wage of the players aged 22 or over we hold a wage for
Defenders take 26% of what the Chinese Super League 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 Chinese Super League club, added together, a week
Yunnan Yukun pay 9 defenders £93,300 a week between them, and Andrei Burcă takes 27% of it.
The best-paid defender at every Chinese Super League club
15 clubs, 2026/27, with where each ranks among the league's defenders
| CLUB | PLAYER | WEEKLY | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chengdu Rongcheng | Matheus Jussa (Matheus Isaias dos Santos) | £27,000£27k | 1 |
| Yunnan Yukun | Andrei Burcă | £25,000£25k | 2 |
| Zhejiang FC | Park Jin-Seob | £25,000£25k | 3 |
| Tianjin Jinmen Tiger | Aitor Córdoba | £16,000£16k | 5 |
| Qingdao West Coast | Bruno Viana | £15,000£15k | 7 |
| Beijing Guo'an | Uroš Spajic | £14,000£14k | 8 |
| Shanghai Shenhua | Wilson Manafá | £13,000£13k | 10 |
| Shanghai Port | Li Shuai | £10,000£10k | 16 |
| Dalian Yingbo | Li Ang (Ang Li) | £10,000£10k | 14 |
| Changchun Yatai | Stoppila Sunzu | £8,000£8k | 22 |
| Shandong Taishan | Gao Zhunyi | £7,200£7k | 26 |
| Qingdao Hainiu | Yaw Yeboah | £6,300£6k | 30 |
| Wuhan Three Towns | He Guan | £5,200£5k | 44 |
| Shenzhen Peng City | Hu Ruibao | £5,200£5k | 43 |
| Henan FC | Lucas Maia | £5,000£5k | 47 |
The best-paid defender in every men's league
43 leagues, ordered by their best-paid defender. The Chinese Super League ranks 25th.
| 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 Chinese Super League?
Matheus Jussa (Matheus Isaias dos Santos) of Chengdu Rongcheng, on £27,000 a week in 2026/27, or £1,404,000 a year. Andrei Burcă of Yunnan Yukun is second on £25,000 a week.
How much do Chinese Super League defenders earn?
The average Chinese Super League defender aged 22 or over earns £4,788 a week, and the median one £3,400. Defenders take 26% of what the Chinese Super League pays its players of that age.
Which Chinese Super League club pays its defenders the most?
Yunnan Yukun, £93,300 a week across the 9 defenders we hold a wage for, led by Andrei Burcă on £25,000.
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 Chinese Super League ranks 25th of the 43 leagues on that measure.
Where to next
The same Chinese Super League squads, cut a different way
See the highest paid Chinese Super League players in every position, the best-paid player at every club, what Chinese Super League players are paid at every age, or the Chinese Super League wage bill, club by club.