big-money move to Chinese club Shandong Luneng, Graziano Pelle has entered the top 10 of highest paid footballers worldwide.
The Italian international rose to the top of the Italy’s game at Euro 2016 as he scored two goals in the tournament and has proven himself to be one of the Azzurri’s best players since making his debut in October 2014.
As a result, several clubs have been interested in him and the Southampton man chose to help Chinese Super League club Shandong Luneng in their troubales, after they came second-last in the league last year.
He will earn no less than €16 million per year over the course of two-and-a-half years while in China, ranking him as the sixth highest paid player at the moment in world football.
The list is, of course, topped by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, while four players in the top 10 currently reside in China as the Super League continues to invest money in overseas talent.
Values shown below are wages per year. The list is as follows:
10. Thiago Silva – €12m – Paris Saint-Germain
9. Jackson Martinez – €12.5m – Guangzhou Evergrande
8. Ezequiel Lavezzi – €13m – Hebei China Fortune
7. Thomas Muller – €13.5m – Bayern Munich
6. Graziano Pelle – €16m – Shandong Luneng
5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – €16m – Manchester United
4. Neymar – €19m – Barcelona
3. Hulk – €20m – Shanghai SIPG
2. Lionel Messi – €20m – Barcelona
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – €21m – Real Madrid
