When you talk about the world’s best players, the first names that will probably come to mind are Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo, among others. People can debate whether who of them actually deserves to be dubbed like that, but the conversation will likely revolve around forwards or attacking midfielders.
The impact that central or defensive midfielders can have on the game anda team’s success isoften underestimated, which is why you may not hear any of them in Ballon d’Or or The Best debates.
That may also be a reason why N’Golo Kante, who despite being widely regarded the best defensive midfielder on the planet usually receives less praise than deserved, reportedly makes just the same than Paul Pogba – who despite being a talented player does not have the same impact at Manchester United than Kante does at Chelsea – and less than an aging Barcelona star.
Kante, Pogba reportedly makeless than aging Barcelona midfielder
A report by Marca revealed the10 highest-paid players in each of Europe’s big fiveleagues, with N’Golo Kante the ninth top earner in thePremier League and the 27th across all five leagueswitha gross annual salary of€18 million.
Sergio Busquets reportedly has a higher gross annual salary than N’Golo Kante. (David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Those may not be numbers to complain about but when you see that Pogba reportedly makes the same, whileSergio Busquetsmakes even more,you may feel that Kante deserves to do better.
The Barcelona midfielder is reportedly La Liga‘s fourth highest-paid player and the 11th top earner in Europe with a gross annual salary of€23 million. Busquets, 33, was probably the best at his position back in the day but that no longer seems to be the case, as Kante may have claimed that status over the last few years.
