In moving to Fenerbahce, Robin van Persie has become the highest-paid player in Turkish football, and Telegraph Sport have released a list of the best paid stars in each of the major European leagues.
In this feature, we run down the top ten, giving their annual salary in brackets.
Some of these results may surprise you, including number 10…
10) Belgium – Steven Defour (£1m)
The midfielder earns a reported £1 million a year with Anderlecht, which was probably why Defour risked the wrath of the Standard Liege supporters with this transfer.
9) Scotland – Craig Gordon (£2m)
Sunderland paid a British club-record fee for a goalkeeper to sign Gordon for £9 million in 2007. Numerous injuries marred his time in England and he’s now the highest-paid player in Scotland, earning a cool £2 million per year.
8) Turkey – Robin van Persie (£3.5m)
Many may have been shocked to see the former Arsenal striker depart Old Trafford for Turkey, but the lure of being the highest-paid player in the Super Lig must have been one of the reasons.
7) Italy – Daniele De Rossi (£4.5m)
The Italian international is one of few players in Europe that has stayed loyal to one club throughout his career and that has not gone unnoticed by Roma, who are reportedly paying De Rossi £4.5 million per year.
6) Portugal – Iker Casillas (£5.5m)
The legendary former Real Madrid goalkeeper became the highest paid player in the Primera Liga after completing his move to Porto. It’s reported that Los Blancos are still paying half of Casillas’s wages.
5) Russia – Hulk (£5.5m)
The Brazilian international is a player that seems to fail on the big stage but had no problems in sealing a big-money move to Zenit in 2012, where he is still the best paid player in the country.
4) Germany – Robert Lewandowski (£6.2m)
The reported Manchester United transfer target made the switch from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich last summer and holds the title as Bundesliga’s highest paid player.
3) France – Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£10.4m)
There is little surprise that a player of Zlatan’s calibre is earns the most in Ligue 1. After guiding Paris Saint-Germain to three straight league titles his reported £10.4 million per year contract is money well spent.
2) England – Wayne Rooney (£16.5m)
The Manchester United skipper reclaims the title as the highest paid player in English football following van Persie’s departure to Fenerbahce.
Despite a couple of transfer requests in the last few years, United responded by giving him improved terms.
1) Spain – Lionel Messi (£25M)
The two best players in the world play in La Liga and both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are on a decent wage from Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
The pair are always in competition to be named number one and it’s the Argentine who comes out on top in this list.