Artem Dovbik in “Roma”, Andriy Lunin in “Real”, Oleksandr Zinchenko in “Arsenal” or Mykhailo Mudryk in “Chelsea” — the site FanDay.net figured out who among the Ukrainian legionnaires earns the most in their club.
Ukrainian legionnaires in European clubs have solid personal contract conditions. Artem Dovbik, Andriy Lunin, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Mykhailo Mudryk, Viktor Tsyhankov, Vitaliy Mykolenko and other players have become millionaires thanks to their performances in Europe.
With the help of open sources, notably the portal Capology.com, a study was conducted to find out which Ukrainian footballers abroad are the highest paid. We present the top 10 of our legionnaires by salary level. All salary and bonus amounts are specified after tax deductions.
1. Oleksandr Zinchenko (“Arsenal”, England)
The 27-year-old defender has lost his stable place in Mikel Arteta's starting lineup this season due to regular injuries, but this does not prevent him from leading the ranking of the highest-paid Ukrainian legionnaires.
Zinchenko earns €5.08 million per year in the London club. Recall that Oleksandr joined the ranks of the “Gunners” in the summer of 2022 from “Manchester City” and signed a four-year contract.
Thus, the Ukrainian will be able to earn €20.32 million “net” during this time.
At the same time, among Arsenal players, Zinchenko ranks only tenth in salary size. The leader is German forward Kai Havertz — €9.49 million per year plus €1.69 million in bonuses.
2. Mykhailo Mudryk (“Chelsea”, England)
The second place in the ranking of the highest-paid Ukrainian legionnaires is taken by a player from another London club. The 23-year-old winger of “Chelsea” earns €3.39 million in salary per year and another €1.018 million in bonuses. By this indicator, Mykhailo ranks 13-16 among the “aristocrats” players. For example, leader Reece James earns €8.47 million per year.
Recall that Mudryk's transfer from Donetsk “Shakhtar” to “Chelsea” for €70+30 million in January 2023 is a record in the history of Ukrainian football.
The midfielder signed an eight-year contract with the London club, which will allow him to earn about €28.8 million if “Chelsea” does not decide to sell him.
3. Artem Dovbik (“Roma”, Italy)
The 27-year-old forward of the national team of Ukraine joined “Roma” from the Spanish “Girona” in August 2024 for €30.5 million.
Dovbik signed a contract with the Italian club with a salary of €3 million per year. Another €1 million is provided annually as bonuses.
Artem's agreement with the Romans runs until the summer of 2029. Thus, the Ukrainian can count on at least €15 million.
Dovbik ranks sixth among “Roma” players in salary size. The star Argentine forward Paulo Dybala is the leader in this indicator — €3.8 million in salary and €2.2 million in bonuses.
4. Andriy Lunin (“Real”, Spain)
The Ukrainian goalkeeper extended his contract with the Madrid club until the summer of 2030 in September. According to the new agreement, Andriy will earn €4.5 million per year, which is two million more than before. This data comes from the Spanish site DefensaCentral.
According to Capology, Lunin previously earned €2.81 million per year before tax and €1.35 million “net”.
Thus, after deducting 52% taxes, Andriy will earn “net” €2.16 million per year. This allowed Lunin to rise from seventh place in the ranking of the highest-paid Ukrainian legionnaires to fourth.
At the same time, among “Real” players, the Ukrainian occupies only the 21st place in salary level, while his competitor, Belgian Thibaut Courtois, earns €7.2 million “net”.
5. Anatoliy Trubin (“Benfica”, Portugal)
Another goalkeeper of the national team of Ukraine earns exactly €2 million per year in his club. Over five years of contract with “Benfica”, from 2023 to 2028, Trubin will earn a total of €10 million.
Interestingly, only Renato Sanches has a higher salary in the Lisbon club — €3.6 million per year. However, star Argentine Ángel Di María and Brazilian Arthur Cabral receive the same amounts as Trubin.
6. Vitaliy Mykolenko (“Everton”, England)
The 25-year-old defender of the national team of Ukraine earns €1.965 million annually. Mykolenko joined Everton from Kyiv's Dynamo in January 2022 and signed a contract for four and a half years, which will allow him to earn a total of €8.82 million.
Vitaliy ranks eighth among his teammates in terms of salary size.
The leaders are English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and Malian midfielder Abdoulaye Doucouré, who earn over €4.2 million per year each.
7. Ilya Zabarnyi (“Bournemouth”, England)
The center-back of the national team of Ukraine, at 22 years old, is undoubtedly a key player for the English Premier League team.
It is not surprising that in the summer the club offered Zabarnyi to re-sign the contract and nearly doubled his salary — from €0.85 million to €1.693 million per year. By this indicator, the Ukrainian now ranks eighth among his teammates.
Ilya's agreement with “Bournemouth” is valid until June 2029, which will allow the Ukrainian to earn a total of €10.14 million.
8. Roman Yaremchuk (“Olympiacos”, Greece)
The Capology site does not publish salary information for Greek Super League clubs. According to the site Sport24.gr, the 28-year-old forward of the national team of Ukraine, who transferred to “Olympiacos” from Belgian Brugge during the summer transfer window, signed a 4-year contract with a salary of €1.5 million per year.
9. Ruslan Malinovskyi (“Genoa”, Italy)
The 31-year-old midfielder of the national team of Ukraine earns exactly €1 million per year in the Italian club. Malinovskyi's contract with Genoa is valid until June 2027, which will allow him to earn a total of four million euros.
Ruslan ranks ninth among his teammates in salary size. Leading this ranking is forward Andrea Pinamonti, who transferred from Sassuolo in the summer and signed a contract for €2.4 million per year.
10. Viktor Tsyhankov (“Girona”, Spain)
Completing the top ten highest paid legionnaires is 27-year-old Tsyhankov, who transferred to the Catalan club from Kyiv's “Dynamo” in January 2023 and signed a contract for 4.5 years.
According to this agreement, Viktor earns €0.67 million per year in salary plus €0.13 million in bonuses. As in the ranking of Ukrainian legionnaires, Tsyhankov ranks tenth among his teammates in terms of income level.
The Ukrainian midfielder can earn a total of about €3.41 million during the entire contract term in Spain excluding bonuses.
