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J1 LEAGUE · ATTACKERS · 2026/27

Highest paid J1 League attackers

Erik is the best-paid attacker in the J1 League, on £36,000 a week at Vissel Kobe, or £1,872,000 a year. Yûya Ôsako is next on £34,000 at Vissel Kobe. We hold wages for 182 J1 League attackers in 2026/27.

BEST PAID £36k
AVERAGE WAGE £5,315
SHARE OF WAGE BILL45%
TOP 10 A WEEK £233k
WAGES HELD182

The 50 best-paid J1 League attackers

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 attackers in the J1 League in 2026/27, ranked by weekly wage, with the yearly wage, club, age, position and nationality.
# PLAYER WEEKLY YEARLY CLUB AGE POSITION NATION
1 Erik £36,000£36k £1,872,000£1.9m Vissel Kobe 30 Attacking midfielder, striker Brazil
2 Yûya Ôsako £34,000£34k £1,768,000£1.8m Vissel Kobe 35 Attacking midfielder, striker Japan
3 Yuki Soma £28,000£28k £1,456,000£1.5m FC Machida Zelvia 28 Attacking midfielder Japan
4 Yoshinori Mutô £25,000£25k £1,300,000£1.3m Vissel Kobe 32 Winger, striker Japan
5 Takuma Asano £22,000£22k £1,144,000£1.1m Sanfrecce 30 Attacking midfielder, striker Japan
6 Aleksandar Čavrić £20,000£20k £1,040,000£1.0m Kashima Antlers 31 Winger, striker Serbia
7 Mateus Santos £18,000£18k £936,000£936k Nagoya Grampus 30 Attacking midfielder, striker Brazil
8 Leo Ceara £17,000£17k £884,000£884k Kashima Antlers 30 Striker Brazil
9 Elber £17,000£17k £884,000£884k Kashima Antlers 33 Attacking midfielder Brazil
10 Na Sangho £16,000£16k £832,000£832k FC Machida Zelvia 28 Attacking midfielder South Korea
11 Din David £16,000£16k £832,000£832k F Marinos 29 Winger, striker Israel
12 Akihiro Ienaga £15,000£15k £780,000£780k Kawasaki Frontale 39 Attacking midfielder Japan
13 Marcinho £11,000£11k £572,000£572k Kawasaki Frontale 30 Winger Brazil
14 Marcos Júnior £11,000£11k £572,000£572k Sanfrecce 32 Attacking midfielder, striker Brazil
15 Takashi Usami £10,000£10k £520,000£520k Gamba Osaka 33 Attacking midfielder, striker Japan
16 Yûma Suzuki £10,000£10k £520,000£520k Kashima Antlers 29 Attacking midfielder, striker Japan
17 Takashi Inui £10,000£10k £520,000£520k Vissel Kobe 37 Attacking midfielder Japan
18 Diego £9,400£9k £488,800£489k Shimizu S-Pulse 29 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Brazil
19 Issam Jebali £9,100£9k £473,200£473k Gamba Osaka 33 Attacking midfielder, striker Tunisia
20 Kazuya Konno £9,000£9k £468,000£468k Kawasaki Frontale 28 Attacking midfielder Japan
21 Matheus Sávio £9,000£9k £468,000£468k Urawa Reds 28 Attacking midfielder Brazil
22 Asahi Masuyama £8,500£9k £442,000£442k FC Machida Zelvia 28 Winger Japan
23 Lucas £8,000£8k £416,000£416k Cerezo Osaka 31 Attacking midfielder Brazil
24 Masaya Okugawa £7,900£8k £410,800£411k Kyoto Sanga F.C. 29 Attacking midfielder Japan
25 Papagaio £7,700£8k £400,400£400k Kyoto Sanga F.C. 26 Striker Brazil
26 Ryuji Izumi £7,700£8k £400,400£400k Nagoya Grampus 31 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Japan
27 Shahab Zahedi £7,600£8k £395,200£395k Avispa 29 Winger, striker Iran
28 Shinji Kagawa £7,600£8k £395,200£395k Cerezo Osaka 36 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Japan
29 Sébastien Haller £7,600£8k £395,200£395k Sanfrecce 31 Striker Côte d’Ivoire
30 Daichi Hayashi £7,400£7k £384,800£385k Gamba Osaka 28 Attacking midfielder, striker Japan
31 Capixaba £7,400£7k £384,800£385k Shimizu S-Pulse 28 Winger Brazil
32 Yota Komi £7,300£7k £379,600£380k Cerezo Osaka 22 Winger, striker Japan
33 Erison £7,300£7k £379,600£380k JEF United Chiba 26 Right winger, striker Brazil
34 Hayao Kawabe £7,200£7k £374,400£374k Sanfrecce 29 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Japan
35 Takuma Nishimura £7,000£7k £364,000£364k FC Machida Zelvia 28 Attacking midfielder, striker Japan
36 Teruhito Nakagawa £7,000£7k £364,000£364k FC Tokyo 32 Attacking midfielder, striker Japan
37 Welton £7,000£7k £364,000£364k Gamba Osaka 27 Winger Brazil
38 Kyôsuke Tagawa £7,000£7k £364,000£364k Kashima Antlers 26 Right winger, striker Japan
39 Keita Endo £7,000£7k £364,000£364k Kashiwa Reysol 27 Winger Japan
40 Nassim Ben Khalifa £6,900£7k £358,800£359k Avispa 33 Attacking midfielder, striker Switzerland
41 Marco Túlio £6,900£7k £358,800£359k Kyoto Sanga F.C. 27 Attacking midfielder Brazil
42 Takumu Kawamura £6,600£7k £343,200£343k Sanfrecce 25 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Japan
43 Thiago Santana £6,600£7k £343,200£343k Urawa Reds 32 Striker Brazil
44 Yudai Kimura £6,300£6k £327,600£328k Nagoya Grampus 24 Attacking midfielder, striker Japan
45 Keigo Higashi £6,000£6k £312,000£312k FC Tokyo 34 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Japan
46 Koya Yuruki £6,000£6k £312,000£312k Kashiwa Reysol 30 Attacking midfielder Japan
47 Yu Kobayashi £6,000£6k £312,000£312k Kawasaki Frontale 37 Right winger, striker Japan
48 Kensuke Nagai £6,000£6k £312,000£312k Nagoya Grampus 36 Attacking midfielder, striker Japan
49 Kenta Inoue £6,000£6k £312,000£312k Shimizu S-Pulse 26 Winger Japan
50 Ryoma Watanabe £5,700£6k £296,400£296k Urawa Reds 28 Attacking midfielder Japan

What each position earns in the J1 League

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

Goalkeepers £2,645 Defenders £3,457 Midfielders £4,063 Attackers £5,315

Attackers take 45% of what the J1 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 attackers the most

Every attacker wage we hold at each J1 League club, added together, a week

Vissel Kobe £118k Kashima Antlers £81k Sanfrecce £74k FC Machida Zelvia £70k Kawasaki Frontale £52k Nagoya Grampus £49k Gamba Osaka £46k F Marinos £46k Kashiwa Reysol £45k Shimizu S-Pulse £40k

Vissel Kobe pay 12 attackers £117,724 a week between them, and Erik takes 31% of it.

The best-paid attacker at every J1 League club

21 clubs, 2026/27, with where each ranks among the league's attackers

Each J1 League club's best-paid attacker in 2026/27, the weekly wage, and that player's rank among every attacker in the league.
CLUB PLAYER WEEKLY RANK
Vissel Kobe Erik £36,000£36k 1
FC Machida Zelvia Yuki Soma £28,000£28k 3
Sanfrecce Takuma Asano £22,000£22k 5
Kashima Antlers Aleksandar Čavrić £20,000£20k 6
Nagoya Grampus Mateus Santos £18,000£18k 7
F Marinos Din David £16,000£16k 11
Kawasaki Frontale Akihiro Ienaga £15,000£15k 12
Gamba Osaka Takashi Usami £10,000£10k 15
Shimizu S-Pulse Diego £9,400£9k 18
Urawa Reds Matheus Sávio £9,000£9k 21
Cerezo Osaka Lucas £8,000£8k 23
Kyoto Sanga F.C. Masaya Okugawa £7,900£8k 24
Avispa Shahab Zahedi £7,600£8k 27
JEF United Chiba Erison £7,300£7k 33
Kashiwa Reysol Keita Endo £7,000£7k 39
FC Tokyo Teruhito Nakagawa £7,000£7k 36
Sagamihara Topolino Shusuke Ota £5,600£6k 53
Tokyo Verdy 1969 Yuta Arai £4,300£4k 68
Fagiano Okayama Ataru Esaka £3,500£4k 84
V-Varen Nagasaki Juanma Delgado £3,100£3k 93
Mito Hollyhock Mizuki Ando £1,900£2k 118

The best-paid attacker in every men's league

43 leagues, ordered by their best-paid attacker. The J1 League ranks 29th.

The best-paid attacker in each men's league we rank attackers in, the weekly wage, and the league's average attacker wage over players aged 22 or over.
LEAGUE BEST PAID WEEKLY AVERAGE
Saudi Pro League Cristiano Ronaldo £3,000,000£3.0m £99,591£100k
La Liga Kylian Mbappé £497,000£497k £44,024£44k
Premier League Erling Haaland £450,000£450k £92,799£93k
Süper Lig Victor Osimhen £436,000£436k £28,205£28k
Major League Soccer Robert Lewandowski £432,000£432k £22,732£23k
Bundesliga Jamal Musiala £414,000£414k £50,516£51k
Ligue 1 Ousmane Dembélé £332,000£332k £29,142£29k
Primeira Liga Jhon Durán £300,000£300k £8,858£9k
Serie A Lautaro Martínez £277,000£277k £42,915£43k
La Liga 2 Álvaro Morata £138,000£138k £6,395£6k
Championship James Ward-Prowse £125,000£125k £18,757£19k
Eredivisie Julian Brandt £124,000£124k £9,719£10k
Super Liga Thiago Almada £123,000£123k £5,256£5k
Serie B Lorenzo Insigne £92,000£92k £8,599£9k
Brasileirão Série A Fred £85,000£85k £12,689£13k
Russian Premier League Wendel £71,000£71k £16,420£16k
Belgian Pro League Hans Vanaken £70,000£70k £8,070£8k
Superleague Greece Ayoub El Kaabi £64,000£64k £13,954£14k
Liga MX Julián Carranza £62,000£62k £9,234£9k
Ekstraklasa Mateusz Klich £61,000£61k £3,685£4k
2. Bundesliga Christian Eriksen £60,000£60k £9,170£9k
Austrian Bundesliga Saša Kalajdžic £53,000£53k £5,308£5k
Croatian First League Iker Almena £52,000£52k £2,068£2k
League One Bobby De Cordova-Reid £48,000£48k £5,492£5k
Chinese Super League Cryzan £43,000£43k £7,644£8k
Scottish Premiership Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain £43,000£43k £5,076£5k
Ligue 2 Téji Savanier £39,000£39k £4,021£4k
Danish Superliga Mohamed Elyounoussi £37,000£37k £6,453£6k
J1 League Erik £36,000£36k £5,315£5k
Czech First League Muhammed-Cham Saracevic £26,000£26k £2,047£2k
Categoría Primera A Luis Muriel £21,000£21k £4,564£5k
Belgian Challenger Pro League Alexis Flips £20,000£20k £1,862£2k
Thai League Bissoli £17,000£17k £2,563£3k
A-League Chris Ikonomidis £17,000£17k £1,642£2k
League Two Andreas Weimann £16,000£16k £2,954£3k
Indian Super League Dimitri Petratos £13,000£13k £985£985
Eliteserien Jón Dagur Þorsteinsson £10,000£10k £1,789£2k
Veikkausliiga Otto Ruoppi £9,000£9k £670£670
Scottish Championship Adam Montgomery £5,500£6k £928£928
I-League Blair Spittal £4,500£5k £459£459
National League James Berry £4,100£4k £1,397£1k
Meistriliiga Rauno Sappinen £1,700£2k £242£242
Canadian Premier League Ballou Tabla £839£839 £491£491

Frequently asked questions

Who is the highest paid attacker in the J1 League?

Erik of Vissel Kobe, on £36,000 a week in 2026/27, or £1,872,000 a year. Yûya Ôsako of Vissel Kobe is second on £34,000 a week.

How much do J1 League attackers earn?

The average J1 League attacker aged 22 or over earns £5,315 a week, and the median one £3,900. Attackers take 45% of what the J1 League pays its players of that age.

Which J1 League club pays its attackers the most?

Vissel Kobe, £117,724 a week across the 12 attackers we hold a wage for, led by Erik on £36,000.

Who is the highest paid attacker in football?

Of the 43 men's leagues we rank attackers in, the best-paid is Cristiano Ronaldo of Al-Nassr Football Club in the Saudi Pro League, on £3,000,000 a week. The best-paid in the J1 League ranks 29th of the 43 leagues on that measure.

Where to next

The same J1 League squads, cut a different way

See the highest paid J1 League players in every position, the best-paid player at every club, what J1 League players are paid at every age, or the J1 League wage bill, club by club.