Ranking every Premier League club by their wage bill in 2023-24: Arsenal above Liverpool… | OneFootball

Manchester United’s wage bill is over 50 times higher than Luton Town’s in a stark reminder of quite how stratified the Premier League is in the 2023-24 season.

Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne, the league’s top-paid player, earns almost four times as much alone than Luton’s entire squad.

There are few surprises when it comes to the breakdown of Premier League wages for 2023-24 campaign. Manchester United boast the highest in the league, having added the likes of Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund onto their wage bill this summer and agreeing a bumper new deal for key man Marcus Rashford.

However, as things currently stand, Manchester United’s 2023-24 wage bill has actually been reduced since last season, having waved goodbye to their previous top earners Cristiano Ronaldo and David de Gea.

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 won’t be competing in European competition whatsoever in 2023-24, making their £128million-a-year wage bill look a little bloated.

Todd Boehly’s Blues have made headlines by recruiting many more new players, but they have reduced 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.

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There are debates to be had about how aggressive Liverpool have been 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. It’s worth bearing in mind that these wage bills are liable to change considerably over the remainder of this summer’s transfer window.

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