RUSSIAN PREMIER LEAGUE · MIDFIELDERS · 2026/27
Highest paid Russian Premier League midfielders
Wendel and Wílmar Barrios are the best-paid midfielders in the Russian Premier League, on £71,000 a week each, or £3,692,000 a year. Gedson Fernandes is next on £61,000 at Spartak Moscow. We hold wages for 58 Russian Premier League midfielders in 2026/27.
BEST PAID £71k
AVERAGE WAGE £16,664
SHARE OF WAGE BILL21%
TOP 10 A WEEK £415k
WAGES HELD58
The 50 best-paid Russian Premier League midfielders
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 | Wendel | £71,000£71k | £3,692,000£3.7m | Zenit St. Petersburg | 27 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | Brazil |
| 2 | Wílmar Barrios | £71,000£71k | £3,692,000£3.7m | Zenit St. Petersburg | 31 | Defensive midfielder | Colombia |
| 3 | Gedson Fernandes | £61,000£61k | £3,172,000£3.2m | Spartak Moscow | 26 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | Portugal |
| 4 | Douglas Santos | £43,000£43k | £2,236,000£2.2m | Zenit St. Petersburg | 31 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Brazil |
| 5 | Roman Zobnin | £39,000£39k | £2,028,000£2.0m | Spartak Moscow | 31 | Right-back, defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 6 | Nail Umyarov | £32,000£32k | £1,664,000£1.7m | Spartak Moscow | 25 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 7 | Dmitry Barinov | £29,000£29k | £1,508,000£1.5m | CSKA Moscow | 28 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 8 | Daniil Khlusevich | £25,000£25k | £1,300,000£1.3m | Spartak Moscow | 24 | Right-back, right midfielder | Russia |
| 9 | Ivan Oblyakov | £22,000£22k | £1,144,000£1.1m | CSKA Moscow | 27 | Left wing-back, defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | Russia |
| 10 | Luis Chávez | £22,000£22k | £1,144,000£1.1m | Dinamo Moscow | 29 | Defensive midfielder | Mexico |
| 11 | Danil Glebov | £22,000£22k | £1,144,000£1.1m | Dinamo Moscow | 25 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 12 | Artem Karpukas | £22,000£22k | £1,144,000£1.1m | Zenit St. Petersburg | 23 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 13 | Christopher Martins Pereira | £21,000£21k | £1,092,000£1.1m | Spartak Moscow | 28 | Defensive midfielder | Luxembourg |
| 14 | Douglas Augusto | £20,000£20k | £1,040,000£1.0m | FC Krasnodar | 28 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | Brazil |
| 15 | Baqtiiar Zainutdinov | £18,000£18k | £936,000£936k | Dinamo Moscow | 27 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder, central midfielder | Kazakhstan |
| 16 | Alexandr Chernikov | £18,000£18k | £936,000£936k | FC Krasnodar | 25 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 17 | Magomed Ozdoev | £17,000£17k | £884,000£884k | FC Krasnodar | 32 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 18 | Nikita Krivtsov | £17,000£17k | £884,000£884k | FC Krasnodar | 22 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | Russia |
| 19 | Daniil Fomin | £15,000£15k | £780,000£780k | Dinamo Moscow | 28 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 20 | Alexandr Kutitskiy | £15,000£15k | £780,000£780k | Dinamo Moscow | 23 | Defender, defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 21 | Dmitry Skopintsev | £15,000£15k | £780,000£780k | Dinamo Moscow | 28 | Left-back, left midfielder | Russia |
| 22 | Rubens | £14,000£14k | £728,000£728k | Dinamo Moscow | 24 | Left-back, defensive midfielder, central midfielder | Brazil |
| 23 | Kevin Pina | £14,000£14k | £728,000£728k | FC Krasnodar | 28 | Defensive midfielder | Cape Verde |
| 24 | Alexey Mironov | £14,000£14k | £728,000£728k | FC Rostov | 25 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 25 | Danil Prutsev | £14,000£14k | £728,000£728k | Spartak Moscow | 25 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 26 | Alexandr Kovalenko | £13,000£13k | £676,000£676k | FC Sochi | 21 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | Russia |
| 27 | Ruslan Litvinov | £12,000£12k | £624,000£624k | Spartak Moscow | 23 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 28 | Rodrigo Villagra | £10,000£10k | £520,000£520k | CSKA Moscow | 24 | Defensive midfielder | Argentina |
| 29 | Ismael | £9,100£9k | £473,200£473k | Akhmat Grozny | 30 | Defensive midfielder | Brazil |
| 30 | Ignacio Saavedra | £9,100£9k | £473,200£473k | Rubin Kazan | 26 | Defensive midfielder | Chile |
| 31 | Kirill Schetinin | £9,000£9k | £468,000£468k | FC Rostov | 23 | Central midfielder | Russia |
| 32 | Maxim Mukhin | £9,000£9k | £468,000£468k | FC Sochi | 23 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 33 | Veldin Hodža | £8,500£9k | £442,000£442k | Rubin Kazan | 22 | Defensive midfielder | Kosovo |
| 34 | Alexandr Zotov | £8,500£9k | £442,000£442k | Rubin Kazan | 34 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | Russia |
| 35 | Ugochukwu Iwu | £8,500£9k | £442,000£442k | Rubin Kazan | 25 | Defensive midfielder | Armenia |
| 36 | Stefan Kovač | £7,600£8k | £395,200£395k | Baltika Kaliningrad | 26 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | Bosnia & Herzegovina |
| 37 | Danila Prokhin | £7,400£7k | £384,800£385k | FC Rostov | 24 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 38 | Houssem Mrezigue | £7,200£7k | £374,400£374k | Dinamo Makhachkala | 25 | Defensive midfielder | Algeria |
| 39 | Kalidou Sidibé | £6,000£6k | £312,000£312k | Akhmat Grozny | 26 | Defensive midfielder | Mali |
| 40 | Alexandr Osipov | £5,500£6k | £286,000£286k | FC Sochi | 26 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 41 | Yaroslav Mikhailov | £5,300£5k | £275,600£276k | FC Rostov | 22 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | Russia |
| 42 | Manuel Keliano | £4,900£5k | £254,800£255k | Akhmat Grozny | 22 | Defensive midfielder | Angola |
| 43 | Dmitry Vasiljev | £4,400£4k | £228,800£229k | FC Sochi | 21 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 44 | Nikolay Rasskazov | £3,900£4k | £202,800£203k | Krylja Sovetov Samara | 27 | Right-back, right midfielder | Russia |
| 45 | Ruslan Magal | £3,700£4k | £192,400£192k | FC Sochi | 33 | Full-back, wide midfielder | Russia |
| 46 | Maxim Sidorov | £2,900£3k | £150,800£151k | Akhmat Grozny | 27 | Full-back, left midfielder | Russia |
| 47 | Mikhail Schetinin | £2,900£3k | £150,800£151k | Lokomotiv Moscow | 20 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 48 | Luka Gagnidze | £2,000£2k | £104,000£104k | Dinamo Moscow | 22 | Defensive midfielder | Georgia |
| 49 | Matvey Kislyak | £1,900£2k | £98,800£99k | CSKA Moscow | 19 | Defensive midfielder | Russia |
| 50 | Ousmane Ndong | £1,800£2k | £93,600£94k | Akhmat Grozny | 25 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Senegal |
What each position earns in the Russian Premier League
Average weekly wage of the players aged 22 or over we hold a wage for
Midfielders take 21% of what the Russian Premier 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 midfielders the most
Every midfielder wage we hold at each Russian Premier League club, added together, a week
Zenit St. Petersburg pay 4 midfielders £207,000 a week between them, and Wendel takes 34% of it.
The best-paid midfielder at every Russian Premier League club
17 clubs, 2026/27, with where each ranks among the league's midfielders
| CLUB | PLAYER | WEEKLY | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zenit St. Petersburg | Wendel | £71,000£71k | 1 |
| Spartak Moscow | Gedson Fernandes | £61,000£61k | 3 |
| CSKA Moscow | Dmitry Barinov | £29,000£29k | 7 |
| Dinamo Moscow | Luis Chávez | £22,000£22k | 10 |
| FC Krasnodar | Douglas Augusto | £20,000£20k | 14 |
| FC Rostov | Alexey Mironov | £14,000£14k | 24 |
| FC Sochi | Alexandr Kovalenko | £13,000£13k | 26 |
| Rubin Kazan | Ignacio Saavedra | £9,100£9k | 30 |
| Akhmat Grozny | Ismael | £9,100£9k | 29 |
| Baltika Kaliningrad | Stefan Kovač | £7,600£8k | 36 |
| Dinamo Makhachkala | Houssem Mrezigue | £7,200£7k | 38 |
| Krylja Sovetov Samara | Nikolay Rasskazov | £3,900£4k | 44 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | Mikhail Schetinin | £2,900£3k | 47 |
| Rodina Moscow | Ruslan Fischenko | £1,700£2k | 51 |
| Akron Togliatti | No wage held | - | - |
| Fakel Voronezh | No wage held | - | - |
| FC Orenburg | No wage held | - | - |
The best-paid midfielder in every men's league
43 leagues, ordered by their best-paid midfielder. The Russian Premier League ranks 15th.
| 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 Russian Premier League?
Wendel of Zenit St. Petersburg and Wílmar Barrios of Zenit St. Petersburg, on £71,000 a week each in 2026/27, or £3,692,000 a year.
How much do Russian Premier League midfielders earn?
The average Russian Premier League midfielder aged 22 or over earns £16,664 a week, and the median one £14,000. Midfielders take 21% of what the Russian Premier League pays its players of that age.
Which Russian Premier League club pays its midfielders the most?
Zenit St. Petersburg, £207,000 a week across the 4 midfielders we hold a wage for, led by Wendel on £71,000.
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 Russian Premier League ranks 15th of the 43 leagues on that measure.
Where to next
The same Russian Premier League squads, cut a different way
See the highest paid Russian Premier League players in every position, the best-paid player at every club, what Russian Premier League players are paid at every age, or the Russian Premier League wage bill, club by club.