Chinese outfit Shandong Luneng paid a fee of £12 million to bring Italian marksman Graziano Pelle to the Super League from Southampton in 2016. His £300,000-per-week wages placed him fifth on the list of highest earners in soccer back then.
According to Marca, the Italian currently earns £15 million every year.
The mammoth salary was more of a fortune than an improvement, considering his £80,000 per week wages at Southampton. Pelle joined the likes of Hulk, Nicolas Anelka and Oscar at China, proving how the Asian country had ousted the likes of Russia and the Middle East as the premium destination for players in search of big paychecks.
9 Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Paul Pogba has hit top form this season
Manchester United emptied a considerable number of coffers in the summer of 2016 when they forked out £89 million to bring Paul Pogba back to England from Juventus. The gigantic sum made the Frenchman the most expensive footballer back then.
Paul Pogba bags the highest salary at the moment of £15.4 million per year in the Premier League as per Marca's figures.
His first season after returning didn't pan out as good as he might have expected, after receiving stick for his below-par performances. However, the 24-year-old has silenced his critics this season with awesome performances for United this season.
The importance of his presence cannot be undermined, considering how the Red Devilsunderperformed in his absence. Since his return, Manchester United seem to be back to their former best and are gunning for glory once more.
French sensation Kylian Mbappe is a newbie who made this list following his loan move from Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain last summer. He currently earns £15.9 million per year, under his new contract with Les Parisiens.
Mbappe grabbed the Golden Boy award in 2017, beating countryman Ousmane Dembele and Marcus Rashford to the title. At the Parc Des Princes, he has successfully replicated his form with 15 goals and 11 assists in 27 games to date.
The prodigal Frenchman man is an indispensable part of a devastating trio alongside Neymar and Edinson Cavani. With him churning out dazzling performances week in week out for the club, PSG certainly won't hesitate in triggering his £166 million buy-out clause next summer.
#7 Hulk (Shanghai SIPG)
Hulk has been a constant presence amongst the world's highest paid footballers
Brazilian striker Hulk has been a constant presence amongst the world's highest earners in soccer. He joined Chinese outfit Shanghai SIPG for a £45 million fee in 2016. His transfer from Zenit St. Petersburg was the highest Asian transfer back then, broken by the arrival of his international teammate Oscar to China.
The 31-year-old currently merits an annual income of £17.6 million according to the Spanish tabloid Marca.
Hulk has taken the Chinese Super League by storm, netting 34 times in 52 games for the club in all competitions.
In 2017, the Brazilian forward expressed his dream to play in the Premier League, citing the competition in England as the major factor triggering his desire. However, it remains to be seen whether any of the Premier League heavyweights can succeed in bringing him back to Europe.
Cristiano Ronaldo has demanded wages to equal arch-rival Lionel Messi
A complete shocker! Cristiano Ronaldo being one of the two dictators of the generation alongside Leo Messi has failed to breach even the top 5 of this list according to the figures displayed by Marca.
The Portuguese giant is currently serving his contract that is set to expire in 2021. As of now, he earns £18.5 million per year, according to the tabloid.
Ronaldo is currently undergoing the worst patch of his career, having scored only six league goals after returning from the five-match ban in September last year.
He has reportedly demanded the Madrid hierarchy to offer him a salary that equals Lionel Messi's figures at the Nou Camp. However, it remains to be seen whether Florentino Perez gives in to his talisman's demands despite his lacklustre performances for the club.
#5 Ezequiel Lavezzi (Hebei China)
Ezequiel Lavezzi moved to Hebei China from PSG in 2016
Ezequiel Lavezzi was another high-profile star who made a switch to the Chinese Super League back in 2016. Signed for £23.5 million by Hebei China, the Argentinian currently earns £20.3 million per year, as per Marca's figures.
There were rumours about his salary being close to about £700,000, but the club later confirmed the figures he would earn in his two-year deal.
In his first season with the club, Lavezzi failed to justify his price tag, appearing just 10 times and scoring no goal. However, in his second season, he has redeemed himself with 20 goals in 27 games
#4 Oscar (Shanghai SIPG)
Oscar's move to Shanghai SIPG is the record Asian transfer of all time
Oscar caused an outrage when he chose to join Chinese outfit Shanghai SIPG in a £60 million deal in 2016 from Chelsea. His move to the Chinese club is the most expensive Asian transfer of all time.
Also, he was the most expensive player signed in January; a record that was surpassed by Phillipe Coutinho following his move to Barcelona this month.
He was criticized for choosing a lower league at the prime age of 24 when he could have easily played for Europe's elite clubs after leaving Chelsea. At present, he earns £21.1 million annually according to Marca and is the fourth footballer on this list who plays for a Chinese club.
#3 Alexis Sanchez (Manchester United)
Alexis Sanchez will wear the number 7 shirt at Old Trafford
Alexis Sanchez's swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan going the other way has been the steal of the season. Apart from the rise in his popularity worldwide as a Man United no.7, the 30-year old is set to become the Premier League's highest earner with £450,000 per week wages. He will bag a sum of £23.4 million once he completes his move to Old Trafford, according to Marca.
Alexis Sanchez was an integral part of Arsenal's FA Cup-winning campaigns in 2015 and 2017. In season 2016-17, the Chilean was at his imperious best, netting 30 times in 51 games for the Gunners.
Sanchez is expected to replicate his stunning form for Arsenal at Old Trafford. It remains to be seen whether he can justify the gigantic wages he will be earning at Manchester United.
#2 Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
Neymar is the most expensive player of all time
Paris Saint-Germain broke the world transfer record when they snatched Neymar from Barcelona's clutches for £198 million last summer. Considering the avalanche fee they paid for him, it is but natural to see him amongst the top three highest earners in the game right now.
According to his latest contract, Neymar will earn £31.7 million annually at the Parc Des Princes.
Following his move to the French champions, Neymar has shrugged off the pressure of his world record move and is running riot in France at present. He has 24 goals and 14 assists in just 23 appearances, justifying each and every penny PSG forked out to land him.
Should his dazzling performances continue, why, the Selecao skipper might as well break the Ronaldo-Messi duopoly at the Ballon d'Or ceremony this year.
#1 Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Lionel Messi is the highest paid player in the world
Lionel Messi became the ultimate earner in the game following Carlos Tevez's move back to Boca Juniors this January. Every Barca fan might have breathed a sigh of relief when the Argentinan signed a contract extension at the end of last year. Under his new contract, until 2021, the Argentine merits an annual sum of £40.5 million, according to Marca.
There's no doubt Leo Messi performs equally well in every game and deserves the money he earns at the club, but the 30-year old has also been ranked as the most overpaid footballer in the world at present.
A research done by IJCSS( International Journal of Computer Science in Sports) has claimed that Messi deserves exactly the half of what he currently earns at the Nou Camp.
Right now, the Argentinian skipper is on course of winning the league title with Barcelona and will also be an integral part of the club's bid to win another UEFA Champions League title this year.
P9 form – get this from the payroll/accounts department of the employer whom you were working for in 2017. If you had more than one employer in 2017, get the P9 forms from all the employers you were working for in 2017. If you are jobless , but you were working last year, get this from your 2017 employer.
KRA PIN number – find it on your payslip or ask your payroll accountant to tell you or get it from KRA by sending a scanned copy of your national ID and requesting your PIN number. You can reach KRA through their iTax centers around the country, through Huduma Centres around the country, on Facebook or via email callcentre@kra.go.ke or telephone (020) 4999 999, 0711099 999.
Visit iTax website If you are unemployed and were still unemployed in 2015, you need:
KRA PIN number – find it on your pay slips from your former job or get it from KRA by sending them a scanned copy of your ID and requesting for your PIN number.
Visit iTax website If you were not living/working in Kenya in 2015, you need:
KRA PIN number – find it on your pay slips from your former job in Kenya or get it from KRA by sending them a scanned copy of your national (Kenyan) ID and requesting for your PIN number.
Visit iTax website How to File Income Returns on iTax STEP 1 Go to the iTax website and log in (Enter your PIN number and click continue, enter your password, do the calculation and get the correct answer and enter it in the relevant space [security stamp] then click login). If you can’t remember your password, click on “ forgot password/unlock account ” and check your email for the new password.
STEP 2 Once you log in, this is the page you will get. If you were unemployed for the entire 2017 (January to December) click on “ returns” on the red menu bar (circled in yellow) and choose the fifth option “ NIL return ”. Fill in the dates: from 01/01/2017 to 31/12/2017 and the other relevant info except “wife PIN” (unless you are also filing returns for your wife), then click submit. You are done.
Wait for next year to file nil returns again if you still remain unemployed the whole of 2018. If you get a job, even for a few months, you’ll need to file returns next year. If you were not living/working in Kenya for the entire 2017 , also file nil returns, just like the people who were unemployed.
If you were employed in 2017 , whether for a few months or the full year, click on returns on the red menu bar (circled in yellow) and choose the first option which is “ file returns ” If you have already filed 2017 returns, but you need to change something, click on returns on the red menu bar (circled in yellow) and choose the third option which is “ file amended return ”.
STEP 3 KRA has already filled the first two options for you, so just click on the drop-down arrow on the third option “ tax obligation” and choose the relevant choice. For most people that is the first option “ Income tax – resident individual ”. Click next.
Income tax – rent income option is for landlords who are paying tax on rent collected.
STEP4 Download the Excel spreadsheet by clicking on it, it will open as a ZIP file . Double-click on the Excel spreadsheet inside the ZIP file to open it. Keep your P9form at hand because you will need to fill the information on it on the Excel spreadsheet.
STEP 5 First things first, click on “enable content” on the yellow line at the top of the Excel sheet, so you can be able to fill in the form. At the bottom, you’ll notice that there are six Excel sheets and the first one is the one you are on right now. It is called “ basic info ”. Fill in all the relevant details and scroll down to fill in the rest of the details if you have a landlord and if you have a tenant and if you are an auditor (most people don’t need/choose not to fill these landlord/tenant/auditor details). Please note that for every field you choose yes, a new sheet will appear at the bottom of the Excel sheet requiring you to give more details. You can only fill in the parts that are white and not the charcoal gray parts. Be sure to fill in every field marked with a red asterisk (*). When you are done with the “ basic info ” sheet, move on to the next sheet titled “ F_Employment Income”.
Keep your P9 form at hand because you need it to fill the remaining Excel sheets. This is how a P9 form looks. It is not usually blank, it usually has the figures you need to fill in the KRA Individual Resident Return form on Excel.
STEP 6 Keep your P9 form close. You need it to fill in the gaps on this sheet titled “ F_Employment Income”. Fill in the PIN and name of your employer from your P9form. Under “ gross pay” write the figure you find at the bottom of “ COLUMN D ” in your P9 form. Most people don’t have allowances and benefits, net value of housing or pension in excess of 300, 000, so fill in zero (0) in those boxes and move to the next sheet titled “ Details of PAYE Deducted ” If you had more than one employer in 2017, you’ll have more than one P9 form (get them from the respective former employers, payroll department). Include the details from each employer in separate rows (You can add as many rows as the number of employers you had in 2017 and fill in the relevant details using the relevant P9 forms).
Please note that when you are filling the Excel sheets, you cannot “cut and paste” you have to fill in manually.
STEP 7 You still need to use your P9 form , so keep it close. Open the sheet titled “ Details of PAYE deducted ”. This is the third sheet on the Excel spreadsheet. Fill in the name of the employer from your P9 form and the employer’s PIN number still from the P9 form. Fill in taxable salary from the total figure you get under COLUMN H of your P9 form. Fill in Taxable pay on taxable salary from the total figure you get in COLUMN J of the P9 form. Fill in the amount of tax deducted (PAYE) from the total figure you get on COLUMN L of the P9 form. Remember to include details for all employers in additional rows if you had more than one employer in 2017 Skip the next two sheets i.e. Skip “ Advance tax credits” and “ IT payments credits ” and go to the last sheet titled “ Tax computation ”. NB: You only need to fill “ Advance tax credits ” if you have a commercial vehicle and you only need to fill “ IT payments credits ” if you paid tax in advance, which most people don’t do.
STEP 8 Still, use your P9 form . Open the last sheet titled “ Tax computation ”. You only need to fill two spaces: “ defined/pension contribution ” and “ personal relief ”. For defined/pension contribution, fill in the figure you find under COLUMN e2 on your P9 form. For personal relief , for most people it is 13, 944 ( which is 1162 multiplied by 12 months), so fill in 13, 944. If you worked for less than 12 months in 2017, take the figure you find under “ personal relief ” COLUMN K on the P9 form and multiply it by the number of months you worked i.e 1162 multiplied by the number of months worked, then fill in the answer you get under “ personal relief ” on the Excel sheet. Once you are done filling in the two fields, scroll down and click “ validate ”. If there are errors , you will get an alert. At the bottom of the Excel sheet on your extreme left, click on the red tab with the title “ errors ”. It will show you the errors, click on each and give the correct information, then when you are done fixing all the errors, go back to the last sheet titled “ tax computation ” and click “ validate ” again. You will get a message asking you if you want to generate a document. Click “ yes”. The document (ZIP file) generates automatically and is saved on your computer under My Documents. STEP 9 To finish, go back to the iTax website and log in again https:// itax.kra.go.ke/ , click “ returns” >> file return >> fill the required info. The required info is: Type of return , return period 01/01/2017 to 31/12/2017 , and then click on browse >> My Documents >> select the ZIP file you see ending in _ ITR . Click open to upload onto the iTax system. Agree to the terms and conditions, then scroll down and click “ submit ”
STEP 10 Check your email for a notification from KRA , it is sent almost immediately. If the figure in the attached acknowledgment receipt is negative, KRA owes you (they’ll pay you when they feel like, like after five years. They’ll deposit the cash directly into your bank account, which you already filled in their form). If the figure is positive, you owe KRA. Pay them without delay. Congratulations! You are done! Let’s do this again next year. NB: IF YOU REALISE YOU MADE A MISTAKE AFTER YOU HAVE ALREADY FILED YOUR RETURNS, YOU CAN AMEND/MAKE CHANGES/EDIT >>>: If after you finish filing your returns, you realize you made a mistake, worry not, you can change it but do so before the 30 June deadline. To amend your return, repeat the same process, log in to iTax >> click on “returns” >> then “ file amended return ”. Select the tax obligation “ Income tax – Resident individual”. On the next page that opens, select return period “from 01/01/2017 to 31/01/2017”. On “ type of form to download” select “ Excel ” then click on download. You will be asked if you want to download the form for amendment, say OK. The Excel file you had filled in will download. Double click on it to open it. Click on “ enable content ” on the yellow line you see at the top. Then click on “ amendment” at the bottom left of the page. You’ll get the Excel sheets with all the information you had already filled in; all you need to do is to change whatever you are changing, then go to the last sheet titled “ Tax Computation ” and click “ validate” . If there are errors, fix them and click “ validate ” again. Once you validate, you will be asked if you want to download a document ( just like in STEP 8 ), say yes/OK and the document will automatically save in your computer on My Documents. Go back to the open amendment page on iTax and click on browse >> My Documents >> and select the new ZIP file (check on the time stamp on the right of the ZIP file to make sure it is the latest i.e. the amended form). Click “ open” to upload, then click “ submit” . You’re done amending.
Graziano Pelle joined Shandong Luneng in 2016
