Erling Haaland is the highest paid Premier League player, earning a reported £525,000 per week from Manchester City. The club’s wage bill is also said to be the highest in the Premier League at around £3.422 million per week.
Premier League player salaries are among the highest in world football overall, but certain players at elite clubs or in high-paying leagues do surpass the pay of the English top flight.
Top 10 highest-paid players in the PL 2026/27
According to the most recent reporting, these are the weekly wages for the top ten highest-paid players in the Premier League for the 2026/27 season.
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City) - £525,000
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) - £350,000
- Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) - £300,000
- Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) - £300,000
- Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) - £300,000
- Kai Havertz (Arsenal) - £280,000
- Alexander Isak (Liverpool) - £280,000
- Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool) - £280,000
- Phil Foden (Manchester City) - £280,000
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City) - £265,000
A notable admission from this list of the highest paid Premier League players may be Enzo Fernández.
He was reportedly on £180,000 per week at Chelsea and some predict his wages to now be in the £300,000 region. However, this hasn’t been confirmed or hinted at by the clubs or player involved.
Given the amount of Premier League prize money that’s given out each season, it’s not a surprise that clubs can pay such huge wages.
While certainly not to the same degree, Premier League referee salaries are also among the highest in world football – but naturally appear meek in comparison to the highest-earning players.
Club-by-club
Every club in the Premier League operates on a different budget, and some choose to put a big part of that towards a star player or two. Here’s a look at Premier League wages club by club, highlighting the highest-paid player for each.
Arsenal
Bukayo Saka is the highest-paid player at Arsenal on a reported £300,000 per week. This puts the winger third on the overall Premier League wages table, helping the Gunners to keep a hold of their most valuable asset.
Putting cash in the right places is a big part of why Arsenal remain among the Premier League outright favourites.
Aston Villa
Boubacar Kamara ranks as Aston Villa’s highest-paid player on £150,000 per week.
However, he may have lost his top spot follow a flurry of deals at the summer deadline despite seeing many of the club’s star players depart. Previously, Ollie Watkins was said to be the club’s highest-earner.
Bournemouth
Evanilson is the highest-paid player on a permanent deal at AFC Bournemouth.
Said to be earning £85,000 per week, loanee goalie Michele Di Gregorio may be on more at £90,000, but it’s not clear if the Cherries are paying his full wages.
Brentford
Igor Thiago and Mikkel Damsgaard come in as Brentford’s joint highest-paid players. The core forward and midfielder are reportedly on £75,000 per week each.
This shows the Bees’ continued commitment to bringing in hidden gems and developing them in a cost-effective way.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Pascal Groß, at 35-years-old, is reportedly Brighton & Hove Albion’s highest earner.
On £90,000 per week, the German came back to Brighton last season to start 18 games. Behind him, Ferdi Kadıoğlu has seemingly become their second highest-paid player at £87,500.
Chelsea
Reece James and Wesley Fofana come in on the same wages within Chelsea’s huge squad.
At £200,000 per week, they out-earn the likes of Moisés Caicedo and, formerly, Enzo Fernández – who were both said to be on £180,000 per week.
Coventry City
Haji Wright is estimated to be Coventry City’s highest-paid player. The newly promoted club are reportedly paying the striker who played a huge part in their return to the top flight around £25,000 per week.
Reports suggest that Ellis Simms, Luke Woolfenden, and Matt Grimes are on similar wages to Wright.
Crystal Palace
Jørgen Strand Larsen, who joined in the winter transfer window of the 2025/26 season, is reportedly Crystal Palace’s highest-paid player at £120,000 per week.
Japanese midfielder Daichi Kamada, who was on the Celtic books, is said to be on £105,000 per week.
Everton
Jordan Pickford, as Everton’s long-time first-choice goalkeeper and England’s number one, is the club’s highest-paid player at £150,000 per week. He’s not the top-earning goalie in the league, but he’s very close.
Defenders James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite are said to be around £30,000 per week back of Pickford’s earnings.
Fulham
Bernd Leno is Fulham’s top earner on £130,000 per week. Like Pickford, Leno has been relied upon in goal for many seasons, only here, he likely needed some hefty incentive to trade Arsenal for Fulham back in 2022/23.
Reliable defender Joachim Andersen isn’t far behind Leno on £90,000 per week.
Hull City
Ryan Giles and Abdülkadir Ömür are said to be earning £35,000 per week each.
Giles was a key part of Hull’s promotion campaign in 2025/26, while Ömür has recently returned from loan spells in Turkey to take on the Premier League.
Ipswich Town
Dara O’Shea and Leif Davis, the defensive pillars of Ipswich Town, are both reportedly on £35,000 per week.
Davis has been at the club since its League One days, while O’Shea joined at the start of Ipswich’s last Premier League campaign in 2024/25.
Leeds United
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is Leeds United’s highest-paid player. The rejuvenated striker is said to be earning £100,000 per week.
Looking to retain their Premier League status, Leeds brought in defender Tarik Muharemovic and are estimated to be paying him close to Calvert-Lewin’s wages.
Liverpool
Virgil van Dijk, as arguably the best central defender of his generation, is riding a beefy Liverpool contract that pays him £350,000 per week. At 35-years-old, he’s now in the final season of his contract.
If he retires at the end of the season, Alexander Isak and Ryan Gravenberch will jostle for the top spot on salaries of £280,000 per week.
Manchester City
Erling Haaland is Manchester City’s highest-paid player and leads the odds to be the league’s top scorer this season. The Norwegian striker’s wages also rank atop all Premier League salaries for 2026/27.
City don’t just give a fat pay packet to Haaland, though. Phil Foden, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Elliot Anderson, Joško Gvardiol, Marc Guéhi, and Rúben Dias are all reportedly on £250,000 per week or more.
Manchester United
Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford are reportedly on £300,000 to lead Manchester United’s pay table.
The former is the club captain and in talks for a new deal, while the latter has been loaned out in recent seasons but still has two seasons left on these hefty wages.
Newcastle United
Joelinton stands as Newcastle United’s highest earner.
On a reported £150,000 per week, he’s one of the few remaining big-name stars of the recent Eddie Howe era – which was notable for the new Saudi owners splashing the cash – following the departures of Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimarães.
Nottingham Forest
Morgan Gibbs-White is on £110,000 per week, making him Nottingham Forest’s highest-paid player.
He was set to leave the club last summer, but continued to put up goals and assists despite Forest unconventionally stopping the move.
Sunderland
Granit Xhaka earns a reported £110,000 per week, which places him atop Sunderland’s salary table.
The Swiss midfielder was brought in when the Black Cats were promoted to shore up the midfield, and he’s certainly delivered.
Tottenham Hotspur
New arrival Omar Marmoush is now Tottenham Hotspur’s highest-paid player, having moved from the very high-paying Manchester City this summer.
Splashing the cash to avoid a third successive season of relegation talks, Spurs had to pay up to convince the Egyptian to join on-loan with an obligation to buy next season.
Biggest movers
Every transfer window has a chance to change the highest paid players list, and the summer 2026 window did exactly that.
Enzo Fernández, Omar Marmoush, Bradley Barcola, Elliot Anderson, and Ronald Araújo were the biggest movers, each pushing into a stronger salary position as clubs adjusted for the new season.
That matters because wages in elite football are rarely static.
A fresh contract, a move to a richer club, or a new long-term role in the starting XI can move a player up the ranking very quickly, which is why followers of the highest paid Premier League players keep a close eye on contract renewals as much as transfers.
- Enzo Fernández: Chelsea to Manchester City, *Est. £300,000 per week*
- Omar Marmoush: Manchester City to Tottenham, £250,000 per week
- Bradley Barcola: Paris Saint-Germain to Liverpool, £250,000 per week
- Elliot Anderson: Nottingham Forest to Manchester City, £250,000 per week
- Ronald Araújo: Barcelona to Liverpool, £205,000 per week
As the list of the biggest movers, in terms of salaries, shows, Premier League clubs can match or exceed salaries from some of the most vaunted clubs in the world.
While some will buy more locally and up the wages, such as by offering more than Rangers salaries, others will big for PSG and Barça players and beat them on wages.
Wage bills vs performance
Squad wage totals usually tell a blunt story about ambition, but they do not guarantee silverware.
Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal have the highest squad wages, which fits the recent pattern of the last three league winners staying at the top end of the pay scale. That link between pay and performance is never perfect, though.
A club can spend heavily and still miss the mark if recruitment, coaching, or availability drops off. The useful part of Premier League wages club by club analysis is not that it predicts the table, but that it shows which squads are built to absorb injuries, rotation, and the pressure of competing on several fronts.
Tottenham Hotspur are now fifth, so they will expect a much improved effort in 2026/27, but they’re not guaranteed one.
Beyond the pitch, there’s another element to the growing, hefty wages of the Premier League. Behind the scenes, each player is represented by an agent.
In contract negotiations, agent earnings are often a percentage of those final deals. So, they help to keep pushing up the Premier League salaries to ensure that they get paid more.
How Premier League wages compare with La Liga, Saudi Pro League, and MLS
Star players can earn more in La Liga, the Saudi Pro League, and MLS when a club or league is willing to make a standout offer, especially at the very top of the market.
As you can see in the list below, the highest wages in the world aren’t paid by Premier League clubs.
- Premier League: Erling Haaland (Manchester City) £525,000 p/w, Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) £350,000 p/w
- La Liga: Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) £515,000 p/w, Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) £515,000 p/w
- Saudi Pro League: Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr) £3.43m p/w, Sadio Mané (Al-Nassr) £650,000 p/w
- Major League Soccer: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) £355,000 p/w, Heung-min Son (LAFC) £150,000 p/w
Even so, the Premier League still pays much higher average salaries per player than those leagues, which is what keeps English football at the front of the global wage conversation. That gap is especially clear when you compare overall squad spending rather than isolated superstars.
The Premier League’s depth of high earners means a club can carry several players on elite wages at once, while many other leagues rely more heavily on a smaller number of headline contracts.
That is why the highest paid Premier League players often look expensive in isolation, but the broader wage structure is what really separates England from the rest.
Premier League clubs offer some of the most lucrative deals in world football, but the best way to think about them is as sporting contracts first and headlines second. For information on Safer Gambling, visit www.begambleaware.org.
FAQ
Who is the highest paid player in the Premier League?
Erling Haaland is the highest paid Premier League player, with a reported weekly salary of £525,000 at Manchester City.
How are Premier League wages reported?
Premier League wages are usually reported as estimated gross fixed salary figures rather than club-published contract details.
That means the figures are best treated as informed estimates of base pay, not official salary disclosures. On occasion, the press will catch wind of contract details, helping to peek behind the curtain of football clubs.
Are bonuses included in Premier League salary estimates?
Bonuses are not usually included in the core weekly wage figure used for salary rankings, which is why the numbers focus on estimated fixed pay.
Sign-on fees, performance bonuses, and other incentives can sit outside the headline wage estimate, so the published figure is not the full value of every contract.
