CIES Football Observatory suggests Kylian Mbappé should earn €22.8 million, with Real Madrid, Liverpool, and PSG stars dominating the list of deserved salaries.
The CIES Football Observatory has released its latest “fair salary” analysis, crowning Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé as the individual who should earn the world’s largest pay packet based purely on sporting performance, according to a report from Inside World Football.
Mbappé was attributed a “deserved” gross annual salary of €22.8 million, topping the list of 100 global players.
However, this calculated figure is roughly 40% below his actual Real Madrid earnings, a discrepancy the CIES attributes to the absence of a transfer fee in his 2024 move and the “superstar effect” related to branding and marketing.
The research group’s statistical model ranks players by assessing quantifiable metrics like playing time, match difficulty, consistency in starting lineups, and position, deliberately excluding variables such as endorsements and bonuses.
The rankings are dominated by stars from Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Paris Saint-Germain. Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham ranked third overall and was named the top attacking midfielder, while Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah ranked second.
Other positional leaders include Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid (goalkeepers) and Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool (centre-backs).
The findings underline that while star forwards capture the spotlight—and the salaries—the analytical case for who deserves to earn most may look very different once emotion and marketing are stripped away.
This analytical-market divergence is further evidenced by Erling Haaland featuring outside of the top 15 and Vinicius Junior placing tenth.
The statistical model aims to reveal salary merit based on player contribution, rather than transfer costs or commercial appeal.