Kendry Páez Religion

What religion is Kendry Páez?

Kendry Páez is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who is a Christian and was raised in a Christian family background. His annual salary is equal to $1.3 million. That does not include endorsements.

Kendry Páez plays for the Premier League club Chelsea as well as for the Ecuador national team and previously played for Independiente del Valle, Strasbourg, and River Plate. Among his many career achievements, Páez won the FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea and was voted the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Month during his successful loan stint with RC Strasbourg in France.

Salary & contracts

Kendry Páez is under a long-term contract with Chelsea until June 30, 2033, earning a gross annual salary of £1.0 million (approximately $1.3 million), or about £19,230 (approximately $25,893) per week. Initially, Páez was signed from Independiente del Valle in a deal reported to be worth around €10 million. During his loan spell at Strasbourg, estimates place his earnings between €598,000 and €910,000 per year.

Early life

Ray Kendry Páez Andrade was born on May 4, 2007, in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He is the son of Ecuadorian parents, Ray Páez and Jessica Andrade, and he grew up in the Isla Trinitaria neighborhood of Guayaquil. Páez began playing football at the age of five, with the club Academia Alfaro Moreno, the youth academy connected to Barcelona SC. By 2018, he earned himself a move to Independiente del Valle’s youth team, where he scored 39 goals in 106 youth games before making his senior professional debut at just 15 years old.

Independiente del Valle

Páez made his senior debut for Independiente del Valle in February 2023 at just 15 years and nine months old, becoming the youngest player and goalscorer in Ecuadorian top-flight history by netting on his first appearance. He went on to make 51 appearances for the club across two seasons, scoring 12 goals in the Ecuadorian Serie A and contributing one goal in continental competition before completing his move to Europe.

Chelsea

In July 2023, at just 16 years old, Chelsea agreed to a deal to sign Páez from Independiente del Valle, with the transfer formally completed in July 2025 upon him turning 18 for a reported fee of €10 million. He signed a long-term contract running until June 2033, underlining Chelsea’s commitment to him as a long-term investment.

Strasbourg (Loan)

Rather than thrusting him straight into Premier League football, Chelsea immediately loaned Páez to Ligue 1 side Strasbourg for the 2025–26 season to aid his development. He made 15 appearances for the French club, scoring one goal, and was voted Ligue 1 Young Player of the Month for September 2025. He was recalled from the loan at the end of January 2026.

River Plate (Loan)

On January 31, 2026, Chelsea sent Páez to Argentine giants River Plate on loan for the remainder of the year, where he was assigned the number 19 shirt. He has made nine appearances for River Plate so far, scoring one goal, as he continues his development at one of South America’s most prestigious clubs.

International career

Páez began his international career at the youth level with the Ecuador national under-17 team. He starred at the under-17 Copa América, registering two goals and six assists while captaining Ecuador, before netting one goal and three assists as he started all four of Ecuador’s matches at the 2023 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. He went on to make his senior debut for the Ecuador national team in 2023. Four months later, Páez scored his first goal for Ecuador in a victory over Bolivia in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, becoming the youngest ever goalscorer at the age of 16 years and 161 days. On 29 May 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2024 Copa América. He became the second-youngest goal scorer in the tournament’s history when he scored a penalty in a victory against Jamaica and has since earned 25 international caps. Additionally, Páez has officially been named to Ecuador’s 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.