It’s no surprise that football players receive overwhelmingly large salaries, with some of the top players earning as much as 280,000 euros per week. While we can’t say any of our Croatian players are pulling in that much, we do have a list of the top 10 highest paid that are doing pretty well for themselves.
Here are the top 10 most paid Croatian footballers, as reported by Index.hr.
1. Sammir (Hangzhou Greentown) - 6.4 million euros annually
Former member of the Croatian National Team moved to the east a few years ago where he made his fortune. In China he played for one of the best of the local clubs, Jaingsuu and in 2015 he went on loan to Greentown. A few months ago, the club decided to buy out his contract and gave him a raise, turning him into the most paid Croatian player, bringing in 6.4 million a year.
2. Luka Modrić (Real Madrid) - 6.2 million euros annually
Luka Modrić is arguably the best Croatian footballer, and should soon become the highest paid. Zinedine Zidane wants to improve contracts with the best players of Real Madrid, and Modrić is no doubt a part of this group. His current agreement expires in 2018.
3. Vedran Ćorluka (Lokomotiv Moscow) - 4.4 million euros annually
Defender for the Croatian National Team and in Moscow since 2012, Ćorluka is pretty set on staying where he is. Ćorluka has signed a new contract to become the highest-paid defender in Croatian history, and the fifth highest paid footballer in Russia.
4. Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk) - 4 million euros annually
Legendary captain of the Croatian National Team and player at Ukrainian Shakhtar, Srna was once at the top of the list with an annual draft of 4 million euros. At one time he was the best paid Croatian athlete, and at 34 he is the oldest on this list. He had a contract until 2016, and a few months ago he extended his contractual clause for another year. We have also been hearing about the potential of Barcelona?
5. Ivan Rakitić (Barcelona) - 3.9 million euros annually
Former captain of Seville, Rakitić receives a salary of 75,000 euros per week at Barcelona until 2019. Definitely one of the richest players in the locker room of the Croatian National Team, he is still "poor" when compared to Messi, Suarez and Neymar who are earning over 200,000 euros a week.
6. Mario Mandžukić (Juventus) - 3.5 million euros annually
Mario Mandžukić has played on Bayern and Atletico Madrid, and with Juventus currently Mandzukic has a 3.5 million euro contract until 2019. What's interesting now is that Mandžukić has an offer from China and if it is accepted, he would be making more than double a year in his pocket. Currently, Mandžo is only sixth on the list of Croatian football players with income of 3.5 million euros a year.
7. Dejan Lovren (Liverpool) - 3.4 million euros annually
Unfortunately for Lovren, Liverpool footballers do not get paid even close to the amount United, City and Chelsea players do. Liverpool players earn an average of about 80,000 euros per week, and Lovren makes about 5,000 below average - making him amongst the lowest paid on Liverpool's first team.
8. Mateo Kovačić (Real Madrid) - 3.1 million euros annually
Kovačić is the youngest in this top 10 group making 60,000 euros per week until 2021. Although it sounds like plenty, Kovačić is amongst one of the lowest paid residents of Santiago Bernabeu. Luka Modrić makes twice as much per week than Mateo, and the best-paid Real Madrid player, Cristiano Ronaldo, takes home four times more weekly.
9. Marcelo Brozović (Inter Milan) - 2.6 million euros annually
At the bottom of this list of football millionaires is Inter duo Marcelo Brozović and Ivan Perišić. Brozović was to recently get a better deal from the new Chinese masters, trying for as much as 3.5 million euros with a buy-out clause of 50 million euros, but an argument with coach Frank de Boer threw negotiations into the distance. Brozović will still soon initiate a new contract, but perhaps not with Inter as Arsenal, Juve and Milan are all interested.
10. Ivan Perišić (Inter Milan) - 2.4 million euros annually
One of the best Croatian players is currently at the bottom in 10th place, but we’re pretty sure that will change. The interest in Perišić from the world's best clubs made it clear that his current contract is not a true measure of its current value and that new negotiations should soon begin. But until then, generating an income of 2.4 million euros will maintain as was agreed upon arrival from Wolfsburg. It is certain that he will not do the existing contract until the end of (2020) under the same conditions, but the real question is: where will he go to next?
