From 2.9 billion to 4 billion: Premier League wages soared by 38% in six years, is the salary bubble still rising?

The latest financial data shows that the total salary expenditure of Premier League players in the 2023/24 season reached a record £4 billion, with an average annual salary of up to £8 million.

Among them, Manchester City ranked first with £413 million, followed by Liverpool (377 million) and Manchester United (365 million). Haaland became the highest-paid player in the Premier League with a sky-high weekly salary of £500,000 per week, while Salah increased to £400,000 per week after renewing his contract.

20 Premier League clubs have all announced their 2023/24 season financial reports. Data shows that the salary bubble after the epidemic is still expanding. Six years ago, the total wage expenditure of the Premier League was £2.9 billion, and it is now up 38%.

Salary data shows that the original "top six of the Premier League" has gradually evolved into the "top five", and the gap between high-paying clubs and other teams is widening. Kieron O’Connor, a well-known football and financial blogger, pointed out that Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United (365 million), Chelsea (338 million) and Arsenal (328 million) constitute this high-paying club group.

Aston Villa ranked sixth with a salary expenditure of £252 million, a difference of £76 million from Arsenal. Salary spending for Tottenham and Newcastle also exceeded £200 million.

Although the FA Cup champion Crystal Palace is the fourth-last team in the bottom salary, it still enters the top ten and is regarded as the "dark horse" in the league. Manchester United performed poorly, ranking only eighth, but had the third highest salary expenditure in the Premier League.

The three lowest-paid teams - Luton, Sheffield United and Burnley, were all relegated after the end of the season. Among them, Luton's total salary is only 57 million pounds, the lowest in the Premier League.

"A little crazy"

Haland also admitted that his income was "a little crazy". However, compared with other global sports stars, the salary of Premier League players is actually not an exaggeration.

According to Forbes magazine, Haaland ranked only 27th in the global sports star revenue list, lagging behind stars such as Ronaldo, Messi and Mbappe.

His income is even less than that of NFL (American football) Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who signed a £410 million contract in 2021. In December last year, the MLB (American Professional Baseball) New York Mets also offered a sky-high contract of £628 million for star Juan Soto.

And Manchester City midfielder De Bruyne, who is about to leave the team, previously said that even if he earns 400,000 pounds a week, he still feels that "the salary of top players is not too much."

In 2022, a reporter asked him if he thought he was overpaid, and he responded:

"No, I don't think it's high. I will compare it with singers performing in concerts - there are 60,000 people watching.

The same is true for football. Millions of people watch football on TV and 60,000 people are on the scene. The club's annual income is 500 to 600 million pounds.

Yes, the salary is a lot, but if the club can afford it, it's not much."

UEFA warned: Costs surged

In March this year, data showed that the total salary expenditure of European players in the 2023/24 season reached 15.1 billion pounds, an increase of 6.5% from last year.

UEFA President Cheferin warned the team when releasing the latest "Club Financial Report": Beware of excessive wage expenditures.

"Although most clubs have done a good job in controlling wages, other expenses are rising rapidly, which puts unprecedented pressure on operating profits.

Clubs still need to remain vigilant, and there is still a lot of work to be done to fully restore to pre-epidemic profit levels."

Premier League teams need to abide by the "Profit and Sustainable Development Rules (PSR)" every year, otherwise they will face penalties. In the 2023/24 season, Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted for violating regulations.

Salary Cap Dispute

In February this year, it was reported that the Professional Players Association (PFA) representing players had threatened to file a lawsuit over the implementation of the Premier League plan.

The Premier League club voted last year to explore and implement a new round of salary control system starting from the 2025/26 season. The system will limit clubs to spend up to 85% of their income on paying wages, transfer fees and broker fees.

There is still a gap compared to Saudi Arabia

Although the income is not bad, the salary of Premier League stars is far less than that of the Saudi professional league. Here are the weekly earnings of big-name stars from local clubs.

Cristiano Ronaldo, £3.2 million, Riyadh victory

Karim Benzema, £1.6 million, Jeddah United

Riad Mahrez, £850,000, Jeddah National

Sadio Mane, £650,000, Riyadh victory

Ivan Tony, £490,000, Jeddah National

Ngolo Kante, £400,000, Jeddah United