Do Soccer Players Get Paid When They Are Injured?

While soccer is one of the most popular sports, it’s a sport that has soccer players going through a roller coaster of emotions.

On top of losing games that sucks, soccer players typically have to deal with injuries here and there.

Some players get lucky and only get the odd knock, while others spend months on the sidelines.

Now being someone who has had a year-long injury, I can sympathise with any soccer player who is not only frustrated at not being able to play.

But also has doubts over money and being able to work to earn a living.

Admittedly, the money side isn’t so much of a problem for the pros, especially if they have been playing at a relatively high level for at least a few years.

Since the wages offered are typically higher than the average salary.

With that said, though, it’s still a commonly asked question, which today I will be going over the topic of whether soccer players still get paid when they are injured.

Table of Contents

Do Injured Soccer Players Get Paid?

Yes, injured soccer players will still get paid like normal, despite not playing.

The only times a player will stop getting paid is if the club and the player mutually agree to terminate the contract.

This discussion will happen between the two if the time on the sidelines exceeds the contract length.

It is quite common for 1 to 2-year contracts given by clubs to players, where an injury occurs within that time.

If a player is then not likely to play again for the club without the renewal, then it’s in both parties interest to part ways.

However, while that does happen, standard practice is that a soccer player will continue to receive their weekly wage while going through rehab.

There are points where a club can decide to stop paying out. This depends on your league and the club of which I will get onto later on in the post.

How Do Soccer Clubs Approach Injuries?

Before a soccer club even signs a player, they will always investigate the player further.

By looking at his history and having the player do a medical to make sure he is fit and healthy to sign the club.

Since a contract technically means hiring a soccer player to play for your club, no club therefore wants to sign anyone who won’t be able to play when called upon at any time.

Once that contract is signed by the player, unless there is a term that states the contract can be terminated if they have a career-threatening injury, like an ACL.

Then the player is entitled to continue receiving the wage agreed, whether that is by the club themselves or by insurance companies the club works with.

Now what soccer clubs also do is ensure each of their players, now since they are an asset of the club from the moment they sign but the fact injuries can occur to anyone at any point makes insurance to clubs important.

The insurance that clubs will have on their players can range from a player being out for a short spell to even death in extreme cases.

How Long Will Soccer Players Get Paid For?

Has an outsider looking in, you might be looking at a soccer player who has been injured thinking that they can get paid without even playing a minute.

As for some footballers who are making lots of money can be receiving from 100k-400k just from the club itself.

However, with the insurances we have spoken about, these wages can be covered to some degree.

So if a player is out for a few months, then it’s likely they will have some insurance that is helping out.

Now to stop things from getting out of hand, for instance, if a player signs a 5-year contract for instance but has a bad injury that puts them out for a couple of years, there are policies around the European leagues.

Some give and allow players more time to get back to action while still getting the wage agreed.

While other leagues have the right to cut you off within weeks of the bad news coming through on an injury.

Spain And England

The best leagues for still getting paid despite injuries are England and Spain.

They both have an 18-month policy, where soccer players are entitled to their full salary.

However, if a player is still not playing and is yet to recover, they have the right to terminate the contract.

Now over the years, treatment of the top players in these leagues has been very good.

A good example would be Santi Cazorla, who was hit among fans at Arsenal but eventually returned to Spain.

While he was a class player when he was able to play, he spent the majority of his time sidelined.

To be fair to them, Arsenal handled it all great and gave him support during the time.

But with some horrific injuries, he had a huge spell between late 2016 and 2018, where he couldn’t feature at all.

Despite all of this, he was still paid up to the time his contract ended.

Germany, Italy And France

For the other three main leagues in Europe, they aren’t as generous with clubs not having to pay for as long a periods.

Italy is the best of the three, with players earning a full wage for up to 6 months while they recover.

France has their players covered for 3 months while Germany, on the other hand, only covers up to 6 weeks.

Now since Spain and England clubs will cover most injuries.

Players playing in the three countries above will typically need to seek insurance.

Especially if they suffer bad injuries like ACL’s to keep on getting paid while they recuperate.

Conclusion

Now hopefully this gives you a good idea of what happens to soccer players when injuries strike.

Even in the worst of situations most soccer players are fairly covered, and will still get paid no matter what happens

If you have any questions do let me know below 🙂