Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar: The 10 highest-earning players in each of Europe's top five leagues

Manchester United were desperate to bring Cristiano Ronaldo back to the club last summer.

The Portuguese wanted to leave Juventus and was subject of heavy interest from both Manchester clubs.

Ronaldo looked to be joining Man City but in the end it was United that won the race for his signature.

The now 37-year-old signed a mega-money contract that saw him comfortably become the highest-paid player in the Premier League.

But how does his salary compare to the highest-paid players across Europe?

Spanish outlet Marca have listed the 10 highest earning players in each of Europe’s top five leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A).

All figures are the players’ gross annual salaries in Euros. View them below…

Premier League

Ronaldo earns €7 million-per-year more than any other player in the Premier League.

De Bruyne is the only non-Man United player in the top five.

Interestingly, there isn’t a single Liverpool player in the top 10.

La Liga

Bale, despite featuring sporadically for Real Madrid over the past few seasons, is the highest-paid player in La Liga. He almost certainly won’t be for much longer, though, with his contract running out this summer.

In total, six Real Madrid players feature in the top 10. But one of those isn’t one of the best players in the world, Karim Benzema.

Bundesliga

Nine (yes, nine!) Bayern players feature in the top 10. Marco Reus is the only non-Bayern player to feature.

Robert Lewandowskiis Bundesliga’s highest-paid player and rightly so. He is arguably the best player in the world, after all.

Ligue 1

Paris Saint-Germain dominate the list of highest-paid players in Ligue 1.

The salaries of their three attacking stars, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, are ridiculous.