The 2023-24 La Liga season is underway, with the league’s most powerful sides looking once again like the heavy favorites to challenge for the title.
Real Madrid and Barcelona have formed something of a duopoly in the Spanish top flight, with Real’s city rivals Atlético Madrid occasionally threatening to make it a three-way battle.
The last time any team outside that trio won the league? That would be Valencia, all the way back in 2003-04.
This dominance is reflected in salary data from La Liga, with the league’s highest-paid players overwhelmingly coming from the big three sides.
In fact, out of the top 25 highest-paid players this season, only one (Athletic Club’s Iñaki Williams) comes from outside of the big three.
Let’s take a look at the 25 highest-paid La Liga players in 2023-24 by annual salary. All data is provided by Capology.