The Highest-Paid Player in Every Premier League Season

We all know that footballers earn a ridiculous amount of money. So much, in fact, that it’s really hard to relate to them. For reference: in 2020, the average UK annual salary was £38,600. For Premier League footballers, the average weekly take home was north of £60,000-per-week.

With the ever-growing nature of the sport, those figures – no doubt – continue to rise exponentially. But have hefty wages always been the case in the weird and wonderful world of football and, particularly, England’s top tier? Well, a brilliant video from HITC Sevens looked at the Premier League’s highest-paid player in every season up until the 2021/22 campaign.

To do so, they undertook painstaking research to delve into newspaper archives to reveal the reported player wages. Some seasons had multiple highest earners with players signing contracts at different times throughout the campaign, but they used the highest earner at the end of each season. Ensuring that there’s a full record during the English top flight’s modern era, the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons have been added on to the video.

1992/93, 1993/94 – John Barnes

£10,000-per-week

John Barnes became England’s first £10,000-per-week player when he joined Liverpool in 1987 – before the top division’s re-branding in 1992 – and remained on that salary as fans and supporters alike entered the new era: the Premier League.

Barnes’ salary sent shock waves throughout the league because of how superior his financial gain was compared to the majority of players plying their trade at the top of the English game. At the time, the Premier League’s average annual wage was just £77,000, while the Reds star was on a healthy £520,000-per-year.

1994/95 – Eric Cantona

£18,000-per-week

For most of the season, Barnes and Chris Sutton were the joint-highest on £10,000-per-week, but just before the end of the campaign, Eric Cantona was rewarded with a British record contract. The enigmatic Frenchman carried a certain aura with him that the league-high wages were the bare necessity to keep him on board.

A recipient of one of the Premier League’s most bizarre red cards ever, Cantona became a household figure thanks to his time at both Manchester United and Leeds United, though it is his success at the former that saw him prevail as one of the division’s greatest ever strikers.

1995/96 – Dennis Bergkamp

£25,000-per-week

Worth every penny, Dennis Bergkamp proved his doubters wrong over the next 11 years upon his arrival in the Premier League, and he even went on to establish himself as an Arsenal legend. With talent coming out of both ears, the Dutchman, dubbed ‘the Iceman’, became the perfect partner for Thierry Henry in their time spent in unison in north London.

Quite interestingly, all of Arsenal’s three Premier League titles came when the striker was plying his trade there. A scorer of one of the best goals the English top tier has been witness to, the mercurial star justified his £25,000 pay packet with deft touches, iconic finishes and a plethora of silverware.

1996/97 – Fabrizio Ravanelli

£42,000-per-week

The Sky Sports TV deal saw player wages enter a newfound stratosphere and Fabrizio Ravanelli was handed a huge contract following his £7 million move from Juventus to Middlesbrough. He scored 31 goals in 48 matches in all competitions that season, so he was well worth his £42,000-per-week – talk about bang for your buck.

Ravanelli is perhaps not the most well-known name on this list, but the Italian bagsman was a crucial figure for Boro in his one-season stint in the Premier League and will be forever remembered as the league’s highest-earner, topping Bergkamp’s previous weekly wage by a whopping £17,000, as his tally of strikes helped the club reach the finals of both domestic cup competitions.

1997/98, 1998/99 – Alan Shearer

£34,000-per-week

After Ravanelli left the Premier League, the highest wage fell for the first time. It meant Alan Shearer, who joined boyhood club Newcastle United in 1996, was tasked with carrying the torch as the division’s highest earner. He retained that status as the best-paid for the following season too, as he continued to score goals at an ungodly rate.

Still – to this day – the Englishman remains the highest scoring player of the Premier League era (260) and it may be a record that is never surpassed, while he is also the quickest player to reach the 150-goal milestone. Interestingly, all of Shearer’s personal accolades swung his way outside the two-season period of being the league’s highest-earner.

1999/00, 2000/01 – Roy Keane

£52,000-per-week

These days, Roy Keane is renowned for his punditry, and it’s easy to forget just how good of a footballer he was. To be earning more than £50,000-per-week before 2000 shows that, while totting up 478 appearances for Manchester United, he was a top, top midfielder – a testament to not only his talent but his influence, too.

Undeniably one of the hardest footballers of the Premier League era, Keane was renowned for his tough-tackling, no-nonsense persona on the pitch and his fiery one off it too. The matter-of-fact nous of his play was indispensable for Sir Alex Ferguson and hence why he is hailed as one of the league’s greatest captains.

2001/02, 2002/03 – Roy Keane

£90,000-per-week

Keane, like the majority of footballers, was rewarded for his consistency as Manchester United’s driving force from midfield. Upon signing a new contract at Old Trafford, increasing his wages by a whopping £38,000-per-week to £90,000-per-week, the Irishman continued to be a vital cog in the club’s pursuit for more silverware during their most dominating years.

His non-materialistic nature paid off, however, as his affluence was rarely talked about. While many stars were splashing the cash on new cars, the latest clothes and everything else money can get you under the sun, Keane kept his spending under wraps.

2003/04 – Hernan Crespo

£94,000-per-week

Roman Abramovich’s financially driven arrival meant that Hernan Crespo became the first Chelsea player to be the Premier League’s highest earner – and certainly not the last. Crespo scored 20 goals in 49 league matches and while it’s certainly not a bad return, it wasn’t fruitful enough to unnerve Arsenal, who earned Invincible status that season.

The Argentine’s stint in west London was somewhat underwhelming given that 60% of his deal consisted of him being shipped off to both AC and Inter Milan on loan spells. That said, Crespo does have a Premier League medal – from Chelsea’s imperious showing in the 2005/06 campaign – to show for.

2004/05 – Frank Lampard

£98,000-per-week

Frank Lampard was one of the best midfielders in the world under Jose Mourinho and signed a new contract at Chelsea in the summer of 2004, just shy of £100,000-per-week. The Englishman remains the division’s top scoring midfielder and his name is enshrined in its very mythology for ample reasons.

Coincidentally, the Blues’ title win – in which they conceded a record-breaking 15 goals – coincided with Lampard being the most affluent asset as he, not just because of his goal threat, headed a formidable west London outfit to glory. The Premier League’s highest-earner scored the all-important goal to secure the Premier League gong during their away trip to Bolton – but that’s exactly what Lampard was about: being the driving force in championship-winning sides.

2005/06 – Steven Gerrard

£100,000-per-week

After winning the Champions League with Liverpool, Steven Gerrard so very nearly left for Chelsea but in the end, the prospect of plying his trade in west London failed to appeal to the Englishman. Instead, he stayed at Anfield and signed a new four-year deal and gradually cemented himself as one of their greatest ever players in his 710-game career, one which saw him rack up 186 goals and 157 assists.

When fans think of Liverpool, Gerrard instantly springs to mind thanks to his loyal service during the club’s toughest years. Known for his passion, clutch moments (think Istanbul) and all-rounded attributes in a Liverpool shirt, the midfielder is regarded as one of their greatest players of all time.

2006/07 – Andriy Shevchenko

£118,000-per-week

How did Andriy Shevchenko repay his £118,000-per-week wages? With just four goals in 30 league matches during the 2006/07 season. Oh dear. A lot was expected of the centre forward upon his arrival from AC Milan – especially given Chelsea shelled out the most money a British club had ever spent on a player at that time.

Lasting a mere two seasons at the club before being shipped back to the San Siro, Shevchenko earned a status as one of the division’s biggest flops. Chelsea have not exactly been known as the wisest spenders over the years, but their weekly outlay on the Ukrainian is certainly one of the worst bits of business.

2007/08 – John Terry

£135,000-per-week

Surpassing Shevchenko’s weekly take home in the 2007/08 season after landing himself a bumper contract was John Terry – but the legendary Chelsea defender, unlike the player above, was worth every penny. The Englishman sharply established himself as one of the best defenders in world football and is widely regarded as the Premier League’s greatest-ever defender.

Terry spent 19 years of his career in west London and was at the beating heart to much of their success, known for his high defensive IQ, leadership abilities and physical strength. During his stint in England’s top tier, Terry won five Premier League titles, though while he was the league’s highest-earner on £135,000-per-week, they were unable to secure the crown.

2008/09 – Robinho

£160,000-per-week

And now comes the ever-growing riches of Manchester City’s money. Robinho scored 14 goals in 31 Premier League games during 2008/09 and, from a goalscoring standpoint at least, could be considered a coup for £160,000 per week – but that didn’t last for too long.

Robinho’s arrival was a real statement of intent with them looking to assert their dominance in English football, but sadly, the flair and poise of the Brazilian never suited English football. He was shipped off to Santos on loan before being sold to AC Milan two years after his arrival in the Premier League as the Cityzens came to terms with their relatively uninspiring transfer.

2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13 – Carlos Tevez

£250,000-per-week

Manchester City replaced Robinho with Carlos Tevez at the Etihad. So, it was only right that he went on to carry the highest-earner torch, with the Argentine earning a crazy quarter of a million pounds every single week. Unsurprisingly, he held the honour of the league’s highest earner for the remainder of his contract.

City’s whopping £250,000 per week spend was justified by the majority of the Manchester United star’s stay on the blue side of the football-crazed city. And that was going swimmingly until his bust-up, which was very public at that, with then-boss Roberto Mancini. After being exiled from the squad entirely, City’s lofty spending on the striker then became a mistake.

2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016,17 – Wayne Rooney

£300,000-per-week

Yaya Toure overtook Tevez as the league’s highest earner, but before the season ended, Wayne Rooney wrangled himself a new deal worth £300,000-per-week. He remained as the Premier League’s best-paid player until he left United after the 2016/17 season.

The Englishman was perhaps past his best by the time he was earning the top bucks, but after his 13 years of service, which helped to become part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s most-used XI based on appearances, it was the least that he deserved. The epitome of Manchester United and what it means to play for the 13-time Premier League champions, Rooney can be considered one of the greats of the English football pyramid.

2017/18, 2018/19 – Alexis Sanchez

£350,000-per-week

What were Manchester United thinking? The Red Devils made Alexis Sanchez the league’s highest-earner as he overtook Paul Pogba’s contract upon his arrival mid-way through 2017/18 from top flight rivals Arsenal. The Chilean managed just a trio of strikes in 32 Premier League games during his nightmare at Old Trafford, despite pocketing his career-best weekly wage.

While his goal return was not exactly fruitful, his weekly wage reflected the form he showed while in north London – so impressive that Mesut Ozil named him in his best XI of players he had graced the pitch with. The former Barcelona ace, now at Inter Milan, inherited the club’s fabled No.7 shirt when he was signed – but it’s not unfair to say that he was unable to live up to the expectations laid out before him.

2019/20 – David de Gea

£375,000-per-week

David de Gea was once the best goalkeeper in the world, but was he really worth £375,000-per-week in the concluding stages of his Old Trafford spell? Albeit briefly, he became the club – and league’s – highest earner, though it interestingly coincided with his least-impressive spell at the Theatre of Dreams.

Hailed as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the storied history of the Premier League, the 45-cap Spanish international has gone from being the highest paid player in English football to unemployed for over a year. In the latter years of his Old Trafford days, eyebrows were certainly raised over his form, which led to the widespread belief that he was probably being overpaid – nonetheless, De Gea was a fantastic servant for the club during his 12-year stint.

2020/21 – Gareth Bale

£560,000-per-week

Although Gareth Bale wasn’t a permanent Premier League player upon his return to Tottenham Hotspur, the Welshman still earned a ridiculous £560,000-per-week in the 2020/21 campaign, largely supplied by his La Liga employers, Real Madrid. A crazy situation to dwell on considering that Los Blancos were practically paying for him to not play football with them.

Tottenham were reported to be paying just 40% of that over his loan spell – even then they will feel like they’re massively overpaying! The five-time Champions League winner, who is famous for not being the biggest lover of the game, enjoyed 19 goal contributions (16G, 3A) in his first season back in north London.

2021/22 – Cristiano Ronaldo

£480,000-per-week

A sensational homecoming. At the tail-end of the 2022 summer transfer window, Cristiano Ronaldo rocked the Premier League as one of football’s best-ever stars looked to propel the Manchester outfit back into title contention. While coughing up £20 million for his services was met with delight, the realisation that his wages would be just shy of the half a million mark every week was not.

The man with the most international goals since the turn of the millennium, Ronaldo proved his ability to rise to the pressures of in the English top flight, comfortably topping his club’s goalscoring charts with 24 across all competitions. With some claims that he actually hindered United, an acrimonious exit put an end to what could have been a brilliant second stint in the league.

2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 – Kevin De Bruyne

£400,000-per-week

Upon Ronaldo’s drama-filled exit, Manchester City’s technician then became the highest earner in all of English football as he lines his pockets with £400,000 on a weekly basis. Quite possibly the league’s greatest-ever midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne has undeniably sealed cult hero status at the club and even the league through his six top flight titles.

Before he was able to prove his worth centre stage, many eyebrows were raised over his return to the England top tier given how poorly his Chelsea spell turned out – but it’s safe to say that De Bruyne has let his feet do the talking, all while earning a cool amount every seven days. He ended both 2022/23 and 2023/24 as the league’s highest paid player, a status he retains for the 2024/25 term too.