Atletico Madrid wages: Who is the best paid player at Los Colchoneros and everything you need to know about Atleti's salary bill

Atleti have only two senior goalkeepers on their payroll, club captain Jan Oblak and 30-year-old Argentine Juan Musso. Oblak is among the highest-paid goalkeepers in the top five European leagues, and the highest-paid player at Atletico.

The highest-paid defender at Los Colchoneros is Axel Witsel, earning €8,330,000 annually. Given that he is a squad player at best, it begs the question whether he deserves to be paid such a high salary. The same can be said about veteran Cesar Azpilicueta, who earns €8 million.

New signing Robin Le Normand is the joint-third highest earning defender along long-time servant Jose Maria Gimenez. On-loan player Clement Lenglet ranks fifth with a salary of €4 million, but he has proved to be an effective signing for Simeone.

Javi Galan, Nahuel Molina, and Reinildo Mandava are the lowest-paid defenders.

England international Conor Gallagher is the highest-earning midfielder in the squad, ahead of the likes of Marcos Llorente and Koke.

Rodrigo De Paul is on the same wages as Koke as he earns €6,670,000, with Samuel Lino and Pablo Barrios earning exceedingly low in comparison to the rest of the midfielders.

As straightforward as it comes - Antoine Griezmann is the highest-paid forward in the squad but, surprisingly, he isn't the highest-paid player at Atletico.

Alexander Sorloth, who earns over €6 million per year, wouldn't be dissatisfied with his salary. However, his partner in attack, Julian Alvarez, has an even bigger paycheck with his €7 million odd salary.

Angel Correa's €3.5 million salary befits his status as someone who Simeone's likes to rely off the bench. Rodrigo Riquelme, Giuliano Simeone, and Borja Carces all earn less than a million euros per year and are among the lowest-paid members of the Atleti squad.

Atletico Madrid's highest-paid player is Oblak, and by a country mile at that. He's the only player earning over €20 million gross per season.

Next on the list is Griezmann, whose position as one of the club's top earners is undisputed. However, some fans might feel that his €12m+ salary doesn't fully reflect his stature and importance to the team.

Gallagher instantly became the third-highest earner at Atleti upon his arrival last summer. Llorente and Witsel round out the top five, with fans probably wondering why the latter is earning so much.

Borja Garces is the lowest-paid Atletico player, and we don't exactly have to feel sorry for the forward given that he hasn't featured in a single game this season. Plus, he'll be a free agent in less than six months.

Cholo Simeone's youngest son, Giuliano, is the second-lowest paid player.

Riquelme, Reinildo, and Barrios round out the top five, with Barrios the only one making over a million euros annually.

So, what does this mean for the bigger picture? In which area of the pitch are Atletico investing the most, and how much do they spend annually on first-team salaries?

Los Rojiblancos are allocating over €38 million to their defenders' salaries, making this the highest expenditure area in terms of wages. Now we know why Simeone's teams are so robust defensively.