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FOOTBALL · WAGES BY AGE · 2026/27

Footballer wages by age

Across the 24,475 players aged 16 to 38 we hold a wage for in men's football, the median climbs from £315 a week at 16 to £4,650 at 28, the highest of any age. From 27 to 33 it does not fall below £4,150.

PEAK AGE28
MEDIAN AT 28 £4,650
MEDIAN AT 16 £315
PLAYERS24,475
ON £10K+ A WEEK3,777
LEAGUES47

The median wage at every age

Men's football, 2026/27, weekly

The median at 22 is £1,700, 4.6 times the £370 at 18, and it gains another £2,950 between 22 and 28. Each age has a page of its own, with the players named.

Every age, and who is paid the most at it

Men's football, 2026/27

The number of priced players, the median weekly wage, the wage the top tenth start from, and the best-paid player at every age from 16 to 38 in men's football in 2026/27.
AGE PLAYERS MEDIAN TOP 10% FROM ON £10K+ BEST PAID WEEKLY
16 1,223 £315 £778 3 Rio Ngumoha £25,000
17 1,480 £345 £1,700 17 Franco Mastantuono £104,000
18 2,282 £370 £1,900 51 Lamine Yamal £281,000
19 2,234 £482 £3,100 88 Roger Fernandes £186,000
20 1,895 £623 £7,100 139 Kenan Yıldız £184,000
21 1,707 £900 £10,000 175 Jhon Durán £300,000
22 1,521 £1,700 £16,000 225 Jamal Musiala £414,000
23 1,467 £2,300 £19,000 289 Bukayo Saka £300,000
24 1,471 £2,700 £23,000 309 Erling Haaland £450,000
25 1,461 £3,100 £29,000 362 João Félix £580,000
26 1,228 £3,400 £29,000 324 Kylian Mbappé £497,000
27 1,175 £4,500 £35,000 336 Théo Hernández £331,000
28 1,112 £4,650 £33,000 330 Rúben Neves £414,000
29 887 £4,300 £34,000 246 Kingsley Coman £414,000
30 806 £4,400 £32,000 240 Otávio £472,000
31 654 £4,500 £35,000 182 Harry Kane £381,000
32 609 £4,500 £29,000 173 Jan Oblak £308,000
33 426 £4,150 £30,000 108 Sadio Mané £625,000
34 336 £3,900 £34,000 85 Kalidou Koulibaly £497,000
35 212 £3,550 £24,000 42 Nacho £166,000
36 153 £4,100 £27,000 29 Robert Lewandowski £432,000
37 73 £3,100 £12,000 10 Iago Aspas £44,000
38 63 £4,400 £22,000 14 Lionel Messi £222,000

The most ever paid at every age

The highest weekly wage at each age in any season we hold

The highest weekly wage paid to a player at every age from 16 to 38, with the club and the season.
AGE PLAYER CLUB SEASON WEEKLY
16 Rio Ngumoha Liverpool 2026/27 £25,000
17 Gavi (Pablo Páez) Barcelona 2022/23 £124,000
18 Kylian Mbappé Paris Saint-Germain 2017/18 £308,000
19 Kylian Mbappé Paris Saint-Germain 2018/19 £311,000
20 Kylian Mbappé Paris Saint-Germain 2019/20 £378,000
21 Kylian Mbappé Paris Saint-Germain 2020/21 £403,000
22 Jamal Musiala FC Bayern München 2026/27 £414,000
23 Kylian Mbappé Paris Saint-Germain 2022/23 £893,000
24 Kylian Mbappé Paris Saint-Germain 2023/24 £888,000
25 Neymar Paris Saint-Germain 2017/18 £629,000
26 Neymar Paris Saint-Germain 2018/19 £636,000
27 Antoine Griezmann Atlético Madrid 2018/19 £791,000
28 Neymar Paris Saint-Germain 2020/21 £859,000
29 Lionel Messi Barcelona 2016/17 £663,000
30 Neymar Paris Saint-Germain 2022/23 £810,000
31 Neymar Al-Hilal Saudi Football Club 2023/24 £2,000,000
32 Lionel Messi Barcelona 2019/20 £1,000,000
33 Lionel Messi Barcelona 2020/21 £1,000,000
34 Lionel Messi Paris Saint-Germain 2021/22 £1,000,000
35 Karim Benzema Al-Ittihad Club (KSA) 2023/24 £3,000,000
36 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 2021/22 £480,000
37 Cristiano Ronaldo Al-Nassr Football Club 2022/23 £2,000,000
38 Cristiano Ronaldo Al-Nassr Football Club 2023/24 £3,000,000

Wages by age in every league

43 men's leagues, ranked by the median at 28

# LEAGUE PLAYERS MEDIAN AT 21 MEDIAN AT 28 YOUNGEST ON £10K+
1 Premier League 1,359 £22,500 £75,000 Rio Ngumoha, 16
2 Serie A 865 £10,000 £44,500 Franco Mastantuono, 17
3 Bundesliga 563 £14,000 £33,000 Lennart Karl, 17
4 La Liga 477 £4,700 £23,000 Axel Tape, 17
5 Championship 1,541 £6,100 £15,000 Jeremy Monga, 16
6 Russian Premier League 259 £3,500 £15,000 Henrique, 18
7 Saudi Pro League 309 £11,000 £13,500 Mohamed Meïté, 17
8 Superleague Greece 279 £208 £13,000 Santino Andino, 19
9 Ligue 1 631 £2,400 £11,000 Genesis Antwi, 18
10 Süper Lig 428 £2,500 £10,000 Renato Nhaga, 18
11 Major League Soccer 745 £2,400 £9,500 Kevin Kelsy, 20
12 Liga MX 552 £180 £8,150 Miguel Vázquez, 21
13 Serie B 530 £2,400 £8,100 Cristian Shpendi, 22
14 Brasileirão Série A 694 £865 £7,700 Tomás Pérez, 19
15 2. Bundesliga 498 £3,100 £7,100 Bence Dárdai, 19
16 Belgian Pro League 373 £2,100 £6,750 Kota Takai, 20
17 Eredivisie 631 £2,100 £6,200 Eric da Silva Moreira, 19
18 Chinese Super League 300 £264 £5,400 He Yiran, 20
19 League One 1,211 £3,400 £4,600 Louis Page, 17
20 Categoría Primera A 498 £1,400 £4,250 Élan Ricardo, 21
21 J1 League 475 £768 £3,900 Hiroto Taniguchi, 25
22 Danish Superliga 272 £1,750 £3,900 Maher Carrizo, 19
23 La Liga 2 550 £1,900 £3,650 Antonio Cordero, 18
24 Super Liga 1,341 £185 £3,100 Damián Pizarro, 20
25 Ligue 2 526 £512 £3,000 Johann Lepenant, 22
26 Ekstraklasa 462 £294 £2,900 Kacper Urbański, 20
27 Austrian Bundesliga 293 £1,300 £2,500 Clement Bischoff, 19
28 Scottish Premiership 331 £2,900 £2,300 Kosta Nedeljković, 19
29 League Two 933 £1,750 £2,100 Joe Williams, 28
30 Primeira Liga 824 £1,000 £1,950 Oskar Pietuszewski, 17
31 Thai League 313 £270 £1,600 Bissoli, 27
32 A-League 281 £674 £1,500 Chris Ikonomidis, 30
33 Belgian Challenger Pro League 415 £600 £1,427 Alexis Flips, 25
34 National League 627 £805 £1,400 -
35 Eliteserien 452 £685 £1,000 Hrannar Snær Magnússon, 23
36 Czech First League 476 £610 £936 Sivert Mannsverk, 23
37 Scottish Championship 237 £680 £660 -
38 Indian Super League 325 £85 £567 Dimitri Petratos, 32
39 Veikkausliiga 205 £239 £441 -
40 Croatian First League 269 £542 £381 Iker Almena, 21
41 Canadian Premier League 111 £297 £295 -
42 Meistriliiga 190 £100 £216 -
43 I-League 194 £72 £127 -

Wages by age in the women's game

4 women's leagues, ranked by the median at 30

# LEAGUE PLAYERS MEDIAN AT 21 MEDIAN AT 30 YOUNGEST ON £10K+
1 Women's Super League 263 £874 £2,450 Alyssa Thompson, 20
2 Frauen-Bundesliga 295 £555 £1,750 -
3 NWSL 255 £828 £1,400 Sophia Wilson, 24
4 Liga F 291 £494 £596 Aitana Bonmatí, 27

Frequently asked questions

How much do footballers earn at each age?

In men's football in 2026/27 the median is £315 a week at 16, £370 at 18, £1,700 at 22, £3,100 at 25, £4,650 at 28. 28 is the highest of any age.

At what age are footballers paid the most?

28. The median 28-year-old is paid £4,650 a week, across 1,112 players. From 27 to 33 the median does not fall below £4,150.

Who is the highest-paid teenager in football?

Lamine Yamal, 18, on £281,000 a week at Barcelona.

How young can a footballer be paid £10,000 a week?

16. 3 16-year-olds are paid it this season, and the best paid of them is Rio Ngumoha on £25,000 a week at Liverpool.

How many footballers are paid £10,000 a week or more?

3,777 of the 24,475 players aged 16 to 38 we hold a wage for in men's football. The most at any one age is 362, at 25.

Where to next

The same squads, cut a different way

See who is paid the most at 28, the age curve in the Premier League, how long the biggest contracts run, or every league we track.