Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo earns nearly three times more than any other player in Serie A as he retains his position as Italian football’s top earner.
But there were some new faces in the top three while Ronaldo’s club Juventus were prominent in the figures.
Romelu Lukaku and Matthijs De Ligt make up the top three, according to Gazette dello Sport.
The figures reveal that Ronaldo takes home £28m (€31m) a year while his team-mate De Ligt is second, earning £7.2m (€8m) plus an extra €4m in bonuses.
Inter Milan’s summer signing Lukaku follows the former Ajax star, receiving £6.7m (€7.5m) per annum.
Gonzalo Higuain has fallen down to fourth from second while another Juve star Paulo Dybala has come fifth.
Juventus claim the next five players in the list, with new arrivals Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey featuring.
It means that Lukaku is the only non-Juve star to feature in the top ten earners in Serie A.
The Old Lady are the dominant force of Italy in recent years and are gunning for a ninth consecutive title.
The likes of Inter and AC Milan have bolstered their ranks in a bid to challenge while Napoli have been closest to toppling the monopoly.
As well as Lukaku, Inter have also forked out for Alexis Sanchez – who joins from Manchester United as well.
Theo Hernandez, Ante Rebic and Rafael Leao have all joined AC Milan are some of the prominent arrivals for Marco Giampaolo – who replaced Gennaro Gattuso in the summer.
Despite Ronaldo’s high wages, former Inter Milan star Andy van der Meyde reckons Lukaku will outscore the ex-Real Madrid star.
“We have met one another and talk very often,” he said.
“Lukaku is a big fan of Italian football and I think he is made for this league.
“He is strong and can score many goals. His strength will put every Italian defence in trouble.
“He has always shown that he can score goals wherever he has played. In my opinion he will score more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo will this year.”
Anthony Nlebem
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
