Top 5 Underpaid Footballers in the World

Footballers often get a lot of stick for being paid ridiculous amounts of money on a weekly basis by their clubs on top of all the revenue they garner from ads and promotions from their individual sponsors.

They have often been criticised for creating a bubble for themselves and detaching themselves from the rest of the world due to the extravagant lifestyle they can treat themselves to thanks to all the money they receive.

However, football is one of the most closely scrutinized sports in the world. The amount of pressure that is put on players, both and young and old, is ridiculously huge. So, they are somewhat justified in having the sort of remuneration that is head and shoulders above the majority of professions in the world.

A player's wage is determined by a lot of factors including his quality and his club's financial structure. Some clubs are more close-fisted than the rest and some just really don't honour their players with the right amount of money for their contributions.

On that note, let's take a look at the top 5 underpaid footballers in the world right now.

(Stats courtesy- Transfermarkt, Sillyseason, Totalsportek)

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#5 Christian Eriksen- £75,000/week

It is plain criminal that a player of Christian Eriksen's quality, who can create magic on the field with his vision, silky dribbles and impeccable passing, is paid less than half of what he could be making in the footballing world.

Eriksen is paid a meagre £75,000-per-week at Tottenham Hotspur. The Dane has been one of the most crucial cogs of Pochettino's system that has propelled Spurs to a place of relevance in Europe. Tottenham play an exciting brand of football and Eriksen is at the heart of it.

He has 14 goals and 11 assists to his name across all competitions this season. It's not just the numbers. Eriksen's calming presence in the final third and his ability to score screamers has helped Tottenham eke out points that would have otherwise been impossible to pocket.

Tottenham Hotspur have a very rigid wage structure and this has often stopped them from being able to keep hold of their best players and if they don't improve Eriksen's wages, the player, who could yet hit his peak, he might very well move to another big club that makes him feel more valued.

#4 Paulo Dybala- £92,000/week

Dybala has been winning a host of trophies at Juventus

Paulo Dybala has shown us enough glimpses of brilliance to be dubbed the next Leo Messi. Though he has quite a long way to go, he is easily one of the best-attacking midfielders in the game right now.

Dybala's left foot is only second best to his legendary fellow Argentine. He weaves his way through defences and has the ability to split them open with his incisive through balls. Dybala has, in fact, played a great role in Juventus dominating the Serie A and going guns blazing in the Champions League over the last few years.

That is why it is disappointing that Dybala earns just £92,000 a week when several footballers, who play bit-part roles at their clubs like Yaya Toure for instance, earn more than twice that amount.

It was rumoured earlier this year that Paulo Dybala will be given a contract extension that will see his wages rise to £120,000 a week but even that would keep him on this list, to say the least.

#3 Dele Alli- £50,000/week

Dele Alli in action against Leicester City

Tottenham Hotspur have a history of paying their players way less than what's due. Dele Alli is quite simply yet another victim of this. Alli has been one of the brightest young talents to have come to the fore over the past couple of years or so and he is currently being paid abysmally less than he should be.

He last extended his contract back in 2016 and earns 50 grand a week. That's almost half as much as what Jesse Lingard earns at Manchester United and Alli is arguably a slightly better player than Lingard who himself has had a breakthrough season.

Though there have been rumours about Spurs wanting to extend Alli's contract which will see him earn twice as much, nothing has materialised on that front. Hence, as it stands, Dele Alli, who has scored 14 goals and provided as many assists across all competitions for Spurs this season gets paid a ridiculously low amount of money.

#2 Harry Kane- £100,000/week

Harry Kane has had yet another spectacular season

At this point, this should come as no surprise given how many Spurs players have already made this list. Harry Kane, simply put, is one of the very best strikers in the world. He has scored more than 25 goals in the Premier League for 3 seasons running! Those are ridiculously amazing returns.

The emergence of Harry Kane has been one of the greatest things to have happened in the Pochettino era at Tottenham. Kane's eye for goal and his ability to score with either foot as well as his head makes him a complete striker.

For a striker who has scored 41 goals for his club across all competitions, a salary of £100,000-per-week is bound to leave him feel undervalued. As is the case with Alli, there have been rumours of Tottenham offering a massive upgrade in terms of wages for Kane. But nothing has manifested as of yet.

#1 Mohamed Salah- £120,000/week

Salah has been tearing it up in the Premier League

This is bound to change. This has to change. When he came to England last summer to join Liverpool, the press ridiculed Klopp for signing a 'headless chicken'. Mo Salah has gone on to make his critics eat their words and sing praises about him.

Salah has been on an entirely different league altogether. He has broken the Premier League record for the most number of goals in a single season after overtaking the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez and Alan Shearer!

Mo Salah is not underpaid in the purest sense of the term, but for a player who has scored 43 goals and provided 14 assists for his club across all competitions in a single season, he earns way too less especially when someone like Alexis Sanchez who has had an underwhelming season earns thrice as much at Manchester United.

Mo Salah is easily in the running for the Ballon d'Or this season and if he goes on to win the Champions League, he might just win it. His fellow competitors, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, earn twice or thrice as much as him.