The 2020/21 Premier League season is upon us, with the first game just two weeks away. For promoted clubs, the boost in finances from TV broadcasting and prize money depending on their table finish are enormous for their financial wellbeing - and all contribute to any outgoings that the club may have, much like it does for all Premier League clubs.
The largest expenditure at almost all football clubs across the globe is their wage bill - and for the bigger teams, these wages can total to hundreds of millions of pounds. Not only this but with the Premier League being one of the richest and most valuable leagues in the world, the big clubs in England often boast some of the largest wage bills across Europe.
With the transfer window still open, it is likely that these wage bills for Premier League clubs will only increase - but of the 20 teams starting next season, which clubs have the largest amount in expenditure for wages in the league?
Information provided by Spotrac is subject to change. All information provided is correct at time of publishing...
20. Leeds United - £2,652,000
After their long-awaited return to the Premier League, Leeds United find themselves at the bottom of the wage bill pile. Granted, this may be due to not all of the club's wage bills being listed in Spotrac, but nevertheless we can at least see the wages for one of their forwards - Jack Harrison. The winger's weekly wage at the club this season is £51,000, having joined on another season-long loan from Manchester City this summer.
19. Sheffield United - £3,640,000
The Blades finished off a terrific season last time out, finishing in 9th place after promotion to the Premier League just the season before. Going into this season, however, the club currently sits 19th in the league with their wage bill. Again, not all of the club's players' wage bills are present on Spotrac, but almost half are, with the highest visible earner being striker, Lys Mousset - who has a weekly salary of £25,000. The 24-year-old played 30 games for the club last season, scoring 6 goals in the process - but his wages appear to take up a large chunk of the club's outgoings, and moving the player on elsewhere might work out beneficial given that Ollie McBurnie is the club's first-choice striker.
18. West Bromwich Albion - £12,012,000
The Baggies are another newly-promoted Premier League club that features low down on the list, not to anyone's surprise, however. The club has an annual wage bill this season of £12,012,000 so far, due to only five players weekly wages being available on Spotrac. The highest earner from the information provided is striker Charlie Austin - who earns £70,000 a week. The 31-year-old is likely one of the highest earners at the club, making a total of £3,640,000 a year. The club could look to offload the striker, due to his age and high earnings, and the fact that last season Hal Robson-Kanu was the preferred starter over Austin, with the Welsh international only earning £30,000 a week - more than half of Austin's weekly earning's. I would imagine now, however, that the permanent signing of Matheus Pereira would make the Brazilian the highest-earning player at the club - but this information is as of yet unavailable.
17. Aston Villa F.C. - £17,377,000
The Villans sit in 17th on the list, and to my surprise, the club's top earner this season is not Jack Grealish. I had expected the 24-year-old to top the table as Villa's highest earner, but Grealish is currently on £35,000 a week, making his yearly earnings £1,820,000. The highest earner at Villa is actually Henri Lansbury, earning £40,000 a week according to Spotrac. That gives the 29-year-old an annual salary of £2,080,000. Lansbury was one of the club's worst performers last year and only started two Premier League games, without a single goal or assist in the process - meaning Villa would free up more than £2 million a year in wages if they were to send Lansbury packing elsewhere. That would leave a sizeable chunk in their outgoing wages for a younger and more talented addition to the squad.
16. Burnley F.C. - £21,632,000
The Claret and Blue are 16th, with a reported wage bill of £21,632,000 via Spotrac - albeit 7 players' wages are missing. The highest earner at the club next season is defender Ben Mee, earning a weekly wage of £55,000. Interestingly, the club's top three earners are all defenders according to Spotrac, with a total yearly wage outgoing of £7,540,000 for Mee, James Tarkowski, and Ben Gibson. The club could free up £1,300,000 in annual wages if they were to offload one particular player - Phil Bardsley. The 35-year-old Scotsman has been a great servant for the club, having played 21 games for Burnley last season. Despite this though, Bardsley takes up a big chunk of the reported outgoing wages for the club, and will likely be looking at retirement soon due to his age - meaning the club should use the leftover wages for a younger predecessor for the right-back.
15. Newcastle United - £22,465,000
Next up on the list is Newcastle United, who's annual wage bill totals to £22,465,000 according to Spotrac, although again not all players' wages are available. The highest reported earner from the information available is surprisingly Yoshinori Muto, who is currently on £54,000 a week. The Japanese forward annual salary totals to £2,808,000, a sizeable amount given the Muto's lack of form and appearances last season. Brazilian forward Joelinton and French winger Allan Saint-Maximin are likely the two highest earners at the club, but their wages are not reported on the website. Offloading Muto may seem like a plausable option to free up wages for new signings ahead of the new season, with the player failing to score a single league goal last campaign.
14. Fulham F.C. - £24,336,000
The final newly-promoted club on the list, Fulham FC have a reported annual salary bill of £24,336,000, but again not all players' wages are available. The highest reported weekly earner is Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, with the 24-year-old earning £67,000 a week. Jean Michael Seri is one of the highest earners at the club with a weekly wage of £65,000, despite being on loan last season at Turkish outfit Galatasaray. If the club were to let the Ivorian leave, it would free up £3,380,000 a year in wages for any new players that may come in ahead of the new season - a sizeable amount of cash for a more dedicated, talented, and younger player. To no surprise, Aleksandar Mitrovic is one of the highest earners at the club and rightly so - the Serbian scored 26 goals last season, helping the club to reach the Premier League via the playoffs, making his £60,000 a week wage well worth it.
13. Brighton and Hove Albion - £29,122,666
Brighton & Hove Albion have an annual wage bill of just under £30 million - and surprisingly when looking at the highest earners on Spotrac, don't appear to have any players not making their worth. The three joint highest earners are Pascal Groß, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, and Martin Montoya - who all earn £50,000 a week. The club's wage structure is actually very impressive - with the wages available on Spotrac, the total annual wages may seem high but are well distributed between the players at the club, and no one player seems to be outearning many of the others unfairly. Overall, Brighton has a great squad and have managed to control their finances well ahead of the new season. It would be interesting to see, however, all players' wages at the club, but I can't imagine much of a difference from the current information provided.
12. Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. - £29,501,000
Wolves' current annual salary bill is £29,501,000, with two players currently on 6 figure salaries each week in Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio, earning £100,00 a week each. Both players are currently 33 and 32 respectively, and will soon be making way for the younger generation to come through - this means that Wolves may likely look within the next couple of seasons on either reducing their wages or letting them leave the club. One current player, Patrick Cutrone, had been on loan at AFC Fiorentina last season and hasn't enjoyed his start to life at Wolves. The Italian currently earns £62,923 a week, and could easily free up a nice amount of the wage bill to make way for another striker alongside first choice Raul Jimenez.
11. Southampton F.C. - £45,240,000
The south coast club comes in at 11th in the Premier League, with an annual wage bill of £45, 240,000 - a large number of outgoings, and a big jump from the other 10 clubs before them on the list. The club's highest earner is undoubtedly striker Danny Ings, who is currently on £75,000 a week, an annual income of £3,900,000. Goalkeeper Fraser Forster had been on loan at Celtic last season, with current shot-stoppers James McCarthy and Angus Gunn to main 'keepers at the club. Forster currently earns £70,000 a week and is the club's third-highest earner - making his yearly salary £3,640,000. If Southampton were to look to move Forster on permanently, it would free up a nice amount in the club's wage bill for better players to come into St Mary's.
10. West Ham United - £51,064,000
According to Spotrac, Wet Ham's current annual salary totals to just over £51 million. The highest reported earner at the London club is Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko, which is surprising. The 30-year-olds yearly salary totals to £5,980,000, which is £115,000 a week - but there is one player in particular that the club is paying way too much, and should look to seel as soon as possible. Jack Wilshere is currently on £100,000 a week, and the departure of the 28-year-old would give a great amount in the wage bill free for a better and younger player - given that Wilshere only played 8 games in the league last campaign. Moving the midfielder on would leave a £5,200,000 a year for wages to other players, something that shouldn't be sniffed at.
9. Tottenham Hotspur - £68,978,000
The London club's current wage bill totals to just under £69 million a year, although not all players' wages are available on Spotrac. The highest earners at the club are joint. Harry Kane is top, with the English striker earning a salary of £200,00 a week, a total of £10,400,00 a year - this is matched by last seasons record club signing Tanguy Ndombélé, and the Frenchman's reported move away could free up a hefty amount of the annual wage bill for the club. Many of the players at the club appear to be earning within their means, but it is Ndombélé who is earning way out of his worth from last season. If a transfer is completed and the Frenchman does leave the club, it will we a welcome relief to the club's annual outgoings.
8. Crystal Palace - £69,862,000
The Eagles sit eighth on the list and have a surprisingly high annual wage bill compared to the rest of the clubs in the Premier League. To no surprise, Wilfried Zaha is the club's highest earner, making £130,000 a week, totaling to £6,760,000 a year. Belgian striker Christian Benteke currently earns £120,000 a week and takes up £6,240,000 a year on the annual salaries at Palace - a big payout for a striker who only scored 2 league goals last season. If the club were to move Benteke on, it would provide a great amount of annual salary for a player that could come in and make a real difference - or maybe even use it to try and keep Alexander Sörloth at the club after a great season on loan at Trabzonspor, with the Norwegian currently only earning £20,00 a week from the London club.
7. Leicester City - £75,480,000
The Foxes have the seventh highest wage bill in the Premier League - totaling a yearly outgoing of £75,480,000. The club currently pay star-man Jamie Vardy £140,000 a week - just over £7 million a year, which was expected given his influence for the team, finishing last season as the top goalscorer in the league. One player that appears to earn well beyond his means is fellow striker Islam Slimani - with the Algerian earning £80,000 a week, despite not having played a game for the club since 2018. If the Foxes were to sell the player, it would give the club an extra £4,160,000 a year for wages to go towards other players.
6. Everton F.C. - £76,252,000
The Merseyside outfit has an annual wage bill of just over £76 million, despite not all of the players' wages being available on Spotrac. A big name missing from the list is Dominic Calvert Lewin's weekly salary, but the reported joint-highest earners at the club are Bernard and Yerry Mina. The Brazilian forward and Colombian defender currently earn an impressive £120,000 a week each. The club also has 6 reported players on six-figure weekly salaries, but one player has surprised me with his weekly earnings, and that is midfielder Tom Davies. Having played 30 league games for the club last season and becoming one of the regular players in Ancelotti's starting XI, the 22-year-old earns £25,000 a week, a figure that I felt would have been higher. Congolese winger has been earning £75,000 a week despite being on loan the past few seasons, and the club should look to offload the player to free up money on the wage bill for other deserving players and/or new signings.
5. Liverpool F.C. - £87,880,000
First up in the top five is current Premier League champions Liverpool - who have a surprisingly low annual salary considering the star players and market value of the squad - paying out £87,880,000 a year in wages. To no-one's surprise, Mohamed Salah is the club's highest earner, raking in £200,00 a week - a total of £10,400,000 a year. There are many other surprises in the club's wage bill though, with Sadio Mané earning £100,000 a week despite his importance and value, as well as defender Joe Gomez only earning £28,000 a week, again despite his importance as first-choice centre-back alongside Virgil Van Dijk. Benchwarmer Xherdan Shaqiri is currently earning £80,00 a week despite his lack of game time. The Swiss international has bags of talent but is not warranting his salary intake as of yet, and moving the player on would free up £4,160,000 a year in wages.
4. Arsenal F.C. - £106,966,273
The first club on the list with a 9-figure annual salary - Arsenal's current outgoings on wages totals to just under £107 million a year, a staggering amount to pay out on player wages. The club's highest earner is German midfielder Mesut Özil. The 31-year-old currently earns a stomach-churning £350,000 a week - a total of £18,200,00 a year, which is nowhere near warranted by the player who refused to take a wage cut during the Coronavirus outbreak. The club's newest signing Willian is set to earn £192, 308 a week, making him the club's second-highest earner. Arsenal should take a serious look at their situation with Özil, however, and force a move for the midfielder to leave the club, as £350,000 a week is an astronomical amount for a player that has been virtually invisible over the past two seasons. Mesut, you should be ashamed of yourself.
3. Chelsea F.C. - £114,940,000
Chelsea finishes up third in the list with an annual wage bill of just under £115 million a season - with the club also having the largest squad in the Premier League with 36 players. The highest-earning player at the club is USA winger Christian Pulisic, who currently takes home £158,654 a week, closely followed by the world's most expensive goalkeeper, Kepa, earning £150,000 a week. One player taking up a large chunk of the wage bill is Tiemoué Bakayoko, who earns £110,000 a week - which is £5,720,000 a year. The player has been on loan to numerous clubs over the past few seasons, and the London club should look to move the Frenchman on permanently to provide wages for more deserving players. One surprise in my eyes was to see midfield maestro Mateo Kovacic earning just £38,462 a week compared to his other high earning teammates.
2. Manchester City - £129,987,000
It was no surprise that the Citizens would be near the top of the table - with the club's total annual salaries costing just under £130 million. It is no doubt that the club's highest earner is Kevin De Bruyne - the Belgian midfielder currently takes home £350,00 a week, an eye-watering amount of money. Man City youngster Phil Foden currently earns £12,000 a week, but the surprise is 35-year-old Fernandinho's take-home of £150,000 a week, which is far too much for a player at the back-end of his career. In addition, City currently has 11 first-team players on 6-figure salaries each week, the joint-most amount in the Premier League - with defender John Stones being one of them, a player the club should look to move on elsewhere, which would free up £5,200,000 a year.
1. Manchester United - £153,395,000
Just as I had expected in all honesty - Manchester United finish top of the Premier League wage bill table, with total outgoing in yearly salaries of £153,395,000. The many United fans frustrations, Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea is the club's highest earner, taking home a staggering £375,000 a week - which is £19,500,000 a year. The club should look to send the Spaniard packing after his poor form this season, especially given the amount spent on his wages each year. The same goes for Inter Milan loanee Alexis Sanchez, who earns £350,000 a week from the club. Just the removal of these two players would give the club an extra £37,700,000 a year in salaries - a staggering amount for two players that have failed to turn up in a United shirt as of late.