Van Dijk, Ramos, Alaba, Rudiger: Who is the highest-paid centre-back in the world?

Antonio Rudiger’s five-year stay at Chelsea will come to an end this summer.

Rudiger’s contract with the club runs out in a few months and was believed to be open to extending his stay, but the two parties could not come to an agreement.

The German is one of the best centre-backs in the world and would no doubt have attracted interest from all across Europe.

And it’s Real Madrid that appear to have won the race for his signature,

According to Sky Sports, Rudiger has agreed a mammoth deal with the Spanish giants.

They report that he officially join Real on July 1 on a four-year deal understood to be worth £342,000-per-week.

That’s a huge deal. But how does it compare to the highest-paid centre-backs in the world?

Using data provided by Spotrac and SalarySport, we’ve listed the world’s 12 best-paid centre-backs after Rudiger’s deal.

Kalidou Koulibaly – £183,000-per-week (per Salary Sport)

Harry Maguire – £189,904-per-week (per Spotrac)

Lucas Hernandez – £197,000-per-week (per Salary Sport)

Leonardo Bonucci – £198,000-per-week (per Salary Sport)

Matthijs de Ligt – £200,000-per-week (per Salary Sport)

Virgil van Dijk – £220,000-per-week (per Spotrac)

Sergio Ramos – £223,000-per-week (per Salary Sport)

Marquinhos – £236,000-per-week (per Salary Sport)

John Stones – £250,000-per-week (per Spotrac)

Raphael Varane – £340,000-per-week (per Spotrac)

Antonio Rudiger – £342,000-per-week (per Sky Sports)

David Alaba – £359,000-per-week (per Salary Sport)

Rudiger will become the second highest-paid centre-back in the world when he joins Real Madrid.

His salary will be marginally higher than Varane’s. The only centre-back who will be earning more than Rudiger is his soon-to-be teammate, Alaba.

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