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La Liga (Source- Twitter)
La Liga is one of the toughest leagues, with robust defending and skilful attackers the league has seen some of the best competitions over the years. The Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry era in the Spanish league is one of the most talked about by the fans as there was an intense rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The referees had a tough time in that era when there was no VAR (Video Assistant Referee).
They used to get lashed on by the players if they made any wrong decision that cost the team points. As time changed, they became one of the best in the world and currently the highest-paid referees in world football. As per the Athletic's report, La Liga officials get paid around £124,256 ($157,115) salary plus an additional £4,205 match fee, or £2,102 each game if they are the VAR referee. Officials in Spain are also paid an additional £21,929 per year for image rights, which include wearing advertisements from the Wurth Group on their jerseys.
In comparison, English Premier League match officials's salary ranges from £73,191 to £147,258 based on experience and position. Their match fee is £1,116 for each game, or £837 for working as a video assistant referee. They also get a bonus based on the quality of their performance and how many ‘key match incidents’ they get correct.
PGMOL refuses to talk about Salary figures
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), which sees the development and appointment of officials in the English game, refused to comment on specific salary figures. After the upgrade of the pay issue that saw officials locked out at the start of the new season, MLS referees now earn a salary comparable to those in the top European leagues. The second highest number salary of referees is in Italy's Serie A, followed by Germany's Bundesliga and France's Ligue 1.
After being asked about the salary for referees in Spain, Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez, a former international official, said, "We have only been the best paid for six years. We used to be sixth or seventh. It’s a struggle we started a long, long time ago."