SERIE A · DEFENDERS · 2026/27
Highest paid Serie A defenders
John Stones is the best-paid defender in Serie A, on £200,000 a week at Inter Milan, or £10,400,000 a year. Alessandro Bastoni is next on £169,000 at Inter Milan. We hold wages for 326 Serie A defenders in 2026/27.
BEST PAID £200k
AVERAGE WAGE £36,415
SHARE OF WAGE BILL31%
TOP 10 A WEEK £1.3m
WAGES HELD326
The 50 best-paid Serie A 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 | John Stones | £200,000£200k | £10,400,000£10.4m | Inter Milan | 31 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | England |
| 2 | Alessandro Bastoni | £169,000£169k | £8,788,000£8.8m | Inter Milan | 26 | Centre-back | Italy |
| 3 | Bremer | £154,000£154k | £8,008,000£8.0m | Juventus | 28 | Centre-back | Brazil |
| 4 | Manuel Akanji | £130,000£130k | £6,760,000£6.8m | Inter Milan | 29 | Centre-back | Switzerland |
| 5 | Benjamin Pavard | £126,000£126k | £6,552,000£6.6m | Inter Milan | 29 | Centre-back | France |
| 6 | Federico Dimarco | £123,000£123k | £6,396,000£6.4m | Inter Milan | 27 | Left-back | Italy |
| 7 | Weston McKennie | £120,000£120k | £6,240,000£6.2m | Juventus | 26 | Right wing-back, defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | United States |
| 8 | Mario Hermoso | £108,000£108k | £5,616,000£5.6m | Associazione Sportiva Roma | 30 | Centre-back | Spain |
| 9 | Gianluca Mancini | £108,000£108k | £5,616,000£5.6m | Associazione Sportiva Roma | 29 | Centre-back | Italy |
| 10 | Benoît Badiashile | £105,000£105k | £5,460,000£5.5m | Napoli | 24 | Centre-back | France |
| 11 | Trevoh Chalobah | £100,000£100k | £5,200,000£5.2m | Como 1907 | 26 | Centre-back | England |
| 12 | Federico Gatti | £97,000£97k | £5,044,000£5.0m | Juventus | 27 | Centre-back | Italy |
| 13 | Alessio Romagnoli | £95,000£95k | £4,940,000£4.9m | Lazio | 30 | Centre-back | Italy |
| 14 | Giovanni Di Lorenzo | £93,000£93k | £4,836,000£4.8m | Napoli | 31 | Centre-back | Italy |
| 15 | Evan N'Dicka | £87,000£87k | £4,524,000£4.5m | Associazione Sportiva Roma | 25 | Centre-back | Côte d’Ivoire |
| 16 | Djed Spence | £87,000£87k | £4,524,000£4.5m | Inter Milan | 24 | Full-back | England |
| 17 | Alessandro Buongiorno | £80,000£80k | £4,160,000£4.2m | Napoli | 26 | Centre-back | Italy |
| 18 | Adam Marušic | £80,000£80k | £4,160,000£4.2m | Lazio | 32 | Full-back | Montenegro |
| 19 | Alexis Saelemaekers | £79,000£79k | £4,108,000£4.1m | AC Milan | 26 | Right wing-back, winger | Belgium |
| 20 | Yan Couto | £79,000£79k | £4,108,000£4.1m | Como 1907 | 23 | Right-back, right midfielder | Brazil |
| 21 | Fikayo Tomori | £77,000£77k | £4,004,000£4.0m | AC Milan | 27 | Centre-back | England |
| 22 | Andrea Cambiaso | £77,000£77k | £4,004,000£4.0m | Juventus | 25 | Full-back, wide midfielder | Italy |
| 23 | Pervis Estupiñán | £76,000£76k | £3,952,000£4.0m | AC Milan | 27 | Left-back, left midfielder | Ecuador |
| 24 | Diego Carlos | £75,000£75k | £3,900,000£3.9m | Parma Calcio 1913 | 32 | Centre-back | Brazil |
| 25 | Lloyd Kelly | £74,000£74k | £3,848,000£3.8m | Juventus | 26 | Centre-back | England |
| 26 | Nuno Tavares | £67,000£67k | £3,484,000£3.5m | Lazio | 25 | Left-back, left midfielder | Portugal |
| 27 | Leonardo Balerdi | £66,000£66k | £3,432,000£3.4m | Associazione Sportiva Roma | 26 | Centre-back | Argentina |
| 28 | Álex Jiménez | £65,000£65k | £3,380,000£3.4m | ACF Fiorentina | 20 | Full-back, right winger | Spain |
| 29 | Luís Henrique | £65,000£65k | £3,380,000£3.4m | Inter Milan | 23 | Right wing-back, winger | Brazil |
| 30 | Andy Diouf | £64,000£64k | £3,328,000£3.3m | Inter Milan | 22 | Right wing-back, defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | France |
| 31 | Mateo Musacchio | £64,000£64k | £3,328,000£3.3m | Lazio | 29 | Centre-back | Argentina |
| 32 | Daniele Rugani | £63,000£63k | £3,276,000£3.3m | Juventus | 30 | Centre-back | Italy |
| 33 | João Mário | £61,000£61k | £3,172,000£3.2m | ACF Fiorentina | 25 | Full-back, right midfielder | Portugal |
| 34 | Wesley (Wesley Vinicius França Lima) | £57,000£57k | £2,964,000£3.0m | Associazione Sportiva Roma | 21 | Full-back, right midfielder | Brazil |
| 35 | Amir Rrahmani | £56,000£56k | £2,912,000£2.9m | Napoli | 31 | Centre-back | Kosovo |
| 36 | Leonardo Spinazzola | £55,000£55k | £2,860,000£2.9m | Napoli | 32 | Left-back, left midfielder | Italy |
| 37 | Fabiano Parisi | £54,000£54k | £2,808,000£2.8m | ACF Fiorentina | 24 | Left-back, left midfielder | Italy |
| 38 | Matteo Gabbia | £54,000£54k | £2,808,000£2.8m | AC Milan | 25 | Centre-back | Italy |
| 39 | Cristiano Biraghi | £54,000£54k | £2,808,000£2.8m | Torino | 32 | Centre-back, left midfielder | Italy |
| 40 | Raoul Bellanova | £53,000£53k | £2,756,000£2.8m | Atalanta | 25 | Right-back, right midfielder | Italy |
| 41 | Koni De Winter | £52,000£52k | £2,704,000£2.7m | AC Milan | 23 | Centre-back | Belgium |
| 42 | Sam Beukema | £51,000£51k | £2,652,000£2.7m | Napoli | 26 | Centre-back | Netherlands |
| 43 | Manuel Lazzari | £51,000£51k | £2,652,000£2.7m | Lazio | 31 | Right-back, right midfielder | Italy |
| 44 | Strahinja Pavlović | £50,000£50k | £2,600,000£2.6m | AC Milan | 24 | Centre-back | Serbia |
| 45 | Pierre Kalulu | £50,000£50k | £2,600,000£2.6m | Juventus | 25 | Centre-back | France |
| 46 | Carlos Augusto | £49,000£49k | £2,548,000£2.5m | Inter Milan | 26 | Centre-back, left midfielder | Brazil |
| 47 | Nicola Zalewski | £48,000£48k | £2,496,000£2.5m | Atalanta | 23 | Left-back, attacking midfielder | Poland |
| 48 | Giorgio Scalvini | £47,000£47k | £2,444,000£2.4m | Atalanta | 21 | Centre-back | Italy |
| 49 | Radu Drăguşin | £46,000£46k | £2,392,000£2.4m | ACF Fiorentina | 23 | Centre-back | Romania |
| 50 | Marin Pongracic | £44,000£44k | £2,288,000£2.3m | ACF Fiorentina | 27 | Centre-back | Croatia |
What each position earns in Serie A
Average weekly wage of the players aged 22 or over we hold a wage for
Defenders take 31% of what Serie A 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 Serie A club, added together, a week
Inter Milan pay 16 defenders £1,059,076 a week between them, and John Stones takes 19% of it.
The best-paid defender at every Serie A club
20 clubs, 2026/27, with where each ranks among the league's defenders
The best-paid defender in every men's league
43 leagues, ordered by their best-paid defender. Serie A ranks sixth.
| 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 Serie A?
John Stones of Inter Milan, on £200,000 a week in 2026/27, or £10,400,000 a year. Alessandro Bastoni of Inter Milan is second on £169,000 a week.
How much do Serie A defenders earn?
The average Serie A defender aged 22 or over earns £36,415 a week, and the median one £26,000. Defenders take 31% of what Serie A pays its players of that age.
Which Serie A club pays its defenders the most?
Inter Milan, £1,059,076 a week across the 16 defenders we hold a wage for, led by John Stones on £200,000.
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 Serie A ranks sixth of the 43 leagues on that measure.
Where to next
The same Serie A squads, cut a different way
See the highest paid Serie A players in every position, the best-paid player at every club, what Serie A players are paid at every age, or Serie A wage bill, club by club.