These are heady times for SSC Napoli, claiming two Serie A titles in the last three years and presently topping the pile once again in 2025/26.
With a deep run in the Champions League also acknowledged, it’s been a remarkable resurgence for a club declared bankrupt in 2004 and forced to compete in Italy’s third tier.
Two decades on and they have a back four boasting 158 international caps between them while Kevin De Bruyne quarterbacks chances by the dozen. This season so far Gli Azzurri have scored the second highest number of league goals and they still have Romelu Lukaku to return from injury to fire some more.
Naturally, all of this elite talent doesn’t come cheap and it is a testament to Napoli’s financial good health now that they can afford to have bona fide superstars on their pay roll.
Biggest Earners at Napoli (2025/26):
- Kevin De Bruyne - £188,161 per week
- Rasmus Hojlund - £157,358 per week
- Romelu Lukaku - £130,240 per week
- Matteo Politano - £109,746 per week
- David Neres - £94,165 per week
To put the figures above into perspective, Napoli have the third highest pay roll in Serie A, shelling out £98,791,000 annually on player salaries. That equates to an average of £3,186,000 per individual.
Are they worth these colossal sums? The silverware in their trophy cabinet, and the glories still to come, strongly suggest they are.
Kevin De Bruyne
There was stiff competition for De Bruyne’s signature last summer when the Manchester City legend left the Etihad on a free. Several MLS clubs made their intentions clear while Aston Villa circled.
Ultimately though it was the Naples giant who won out, securing the remaining vestiges of the midfielder’s magic on a two-year deal worth £18.6m, along with a £8m signing on fee, plus £2.5 a year in bonuses.
The deal made the Belgian the sixth highest paid player in Serie A.
Regrettably, a hamstring tear just three months into his Italian adventures means that the 34-year-old now faces a period on the sidelines, his creativity and experience greatly missed as Napoli embark on a defence of their title.
Rasmus Hojlund
The 22-year-old’s £72m transfer fee ultimately proved to be a dead-weight around the forward’s neck on joining Manchester United in the summer of 2023.
That and the onerous expectation to fire the Reds out of their latest crisis, as first Erik Ten Hag struggled to string together wins at Old Trafford before Ruben Amorim did likewise.
That’s an awful lot of pressure for a striker – who had only shown flashes of excellence at Atalanta – to bear.
In his first season in the Premier League, Hojlund fared reasonably well, scoring 16 goals in all comps. Last term however it all went south, with just four league goals in 32 outings seeing him labelled an expensive flop.
Enter Napoli, offering the Dane a route back to Serie A. To secure him initially on loan the Italian champions have agreed to pay 100% of the player’s wages while there is a £38m obligation to buy clause for next summer.
With Gli Azzurri short-priced in the sports betting to be crowned again come May the pressure remains, as does the demand for goals. It pales though to what he experienced in Manchester.
Romelu Lukaku
The 32-year-old is somewhat of a forgotten figure in England, associated with a tumultuous period at Manchester United and a disappointing second stint at Chelsea. In Italy however – and on the international stage – he remains a formidable presence.
Last term he accrued 24 goal involvements as Napoli mounted a successful title charge while prior to his €30m move to Naples he reached double figures for Roma on loan.
A prolonged thigh problem is presently keeping Lukaku out of action but no doubt he will return, to once again remind everyone of his prolific capabilities and just in time too for Belgium’s World Cup preparations.
It should be noted that his salary at Napoli is substantially less than the £17.2m annual take-home he was getting at Chelsea.
Matteo Politano
Napoli’s vice-skipper has been integral to their rise since joining the club in 2020, his versatility and consistency in output making him a favourite of Luciano Spalletti, and now Antonio Conte.
An industrious right winger by trade, the Italian international has been deployed up front, as a second striker, even a left-back and all to help the club’s cause as they continue to fly high domestically.
Currently Napoli are a whisker behind Inter in the football betting to claim a fourth Scudetto. That’s not chiefly because they have De Bruyne to float the occasional Hollywood pass to Hojlund. It’s because Politano and his ilk put in 7.5 out of 10 performances each and every week.
David Neres
A product of Sao Paulo’s famed youth system, Neres first made waves at Ajax, his trickery and pace helping De Godenzonen reach a Europa League final and the semis of the Champions League.
Thereafter a period of stagnation set in, the winger moving to Shakhtar Donetsk and largely underwhelming. It was at Benfica where he rekindled his reputation leading to a €28m switch to Naples in 2024.
Has the Brazilian proved to be a bargain? Not quite, with his best moments coming in dribs and drabs, but a last-minute assist for a winner vs Parma last term, along with seven other goal involvements did prove key in his team’s title chase.
It did surprise though frankly to discover that Napoli’s captain and mainstay Giovanni Di Lorenzo, along with Scott McTominay, are on less money.
