In 2023–24, Manchester United’s salary expenditure is more than 50 times more than Luton Town’s, serving as a clear reminder of just how unequal the Premier League is.
The highest-paid player in the league, Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City, makes nearly four times as much as the whole Luton team.
Regarding the breakdown of Premier League salary for the 2023–24 season, there aren’t many surprises. Manchester United has the biggest salary cap in the league after agreeing to a lucrative new contract for star player Marcus Rashford and adding players like Andre Onana, Mason Mount, and Rasmus Hojlund to their payroll this summer.
But since the end of the previous campaign, Manchester United’s 2023–24 pay budget has actually decreased as a result of the departure of high earners David de Gea and Cristiano Ronaldo.
It’s no surprise that reigning champions Manchester City aren’t too far behind. The treble winners’ annual wage isn’t far off the £200million-a-year barrier, with De Bruyne and Erling Haaland commanding a hefty proportion of that bounty.
Arsenal are steadily creeping up, now third in the wage bill chart, having made a series of ambitious moves in this summer’s transfer market after qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since 2016.
Chelsea aren’t competing in European competition whatsoever in 2023-24, making their £128million-a-year wage bill look a little bloated.
Todd Boehly’s Blues made big splash in the summer by continuing to spend big recruiting more new players, but they did reduce their wage bill considerably after offloading – deep breath – N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and long-serving club captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
There were debates about how aggressive Liverpool were in the transfer market, but in recent years Jurgen Klopp has always been backed with a squad of some of the league’s top earners.
The likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk still command hefty wage packets, but their overall spending has deflated considerably after this summer’s exodus.
The departures of Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino now see Liverpool sit fourth in the Premier League’s wage bill ranking.
Tottenham have fallen out of the top six after waving goodbye to top earner Harry Kane, with an ambitious Aston Villa up in sixth.
Everton are still paying a mind-bogglingly high amount on wages, with the tenth-highest wage bill in the English top flight, while Nottingham Forest’s outlay also catches the eye, given last season was their first back in the big time. Saudi-backed Newcastle sit eighth, just behind West Ham.
Brighton, sixth last season, and Brentford, ninth, are arguably the Premier League’s biggest overachievers. They spend just £47million and £34million annually on wages, respectively.
Lower down, the newly-promoted trio comprise the bottom three wage bills, but Vincent Kompany’s Burnley spend more than six times as much as the play-off winners Luton.
Here’s the full rundown of how much each Premier League club pays in wages – via FBref, with estimates from Capology.
1. Manchester United – £200,996,000
2. Manchester City – £192,712,000
3. Arsenal – £155,896,000
4. Liverpool – £134,940,000
5. Chelsea – £128,804,000
6. Aston Villa – £99,840,000
7. Tottenham – £91,000,000
8. West Ham United – £90,480,000
9. Newcastle United – £85,800,000
10. Everton – £74,662,000
11. Nottingham Forest – £59,050,000
12. Crystal Palace – £52,150,000
13. Bournemouth – £48,594,000
14. Fulham – £47,580,000
15. Brighton – £47,268,000
16. Wolves – £41,600,000
17. Brentford – £34,398,000
18. Burnley – £20,978,000
19. Sheffield United – £13,302,800
20. Luton Town – £3,662,000
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