11 Highest Paid Premier League Players (2023) | OneFootball

World football is an ever-changing landscape of shifting trends, soap-opera transfer sagas and handsomely paid professionals.

From Jonny Haynes, football’s first £100 p/w player in 1961, the equivalent of £1,800 p/w in 2023’s money (via National Football Museum), right up to the modern day, football salaries have been surging as global popularity and interest in the sport skyrockets.

The real winners of this boom are the players who find themselves at the highest level of football. Let’s dive into the list of the top 11 earners in football’s richest league – the Premier League.

Fulham's Johnny Haynes is named 'Sportsman of the Year' - 1961

For perspective, £300k a week over a five-year deal will net the player around £100 million in that time. Anyone on this list is earning money which means their families will enjoy very comfortable lives.

All entries on this list were provided and validated by Spotrac.

11 N’Golo Kante, Chelsea, £290,000 p/w

Starting off our list is a player known for his subdued, unflashy lifestyle off the pitch. Far from being caught up in the glitz and glamour of English football, N’Golo Kante is famously shy, reserved and modest.

It comes as a surprise then to point out he is one of the highest earners in world football.

At the age of 32, and fast approaching the end of his last big contract, the Frenchman will be departing Chelsea in the summer. He can leave with his head held high, knowing he has two Premier League medals under his belt, the first player to achieve this with two different clubs in consecutive seasons (Leicester and Chelsea) in the Premier League era.

A world-class footballer to begin our list.

10 Kalidou Koulibaly, Chelsea, £295,000 p/w

Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly challenges for the ball with Manchester City's Erling Haaland.

Into our top ten, and just a shade above Kante, comes Senegalese centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly. The second-highest-paid African on the list, Chelsea signed him in the summer of 2022 at age 30 as a replacement for the outgoing Antonio Rudiger and the ageing Thiago Silva.

In his eight years at Napoli, he was courted by some of Europe’s elite clubs. Perhaps waiting too long to make a move, only time will tell whether Koulibaly’s time in the capital with Chelsea will be remembered fondly with trophies.

In the meantime, he will be mopping up a cool £295k a week until 2026.

9 Casemiro, Manchester United, £300,000 p/w

Beginning the 300k+ club is Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, a stalwart of the Real Madrid side which dominated European football in the 2010s.

Manchester United were scampering for a midfielder in Summer 2022, with Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Juan Mata all leaving Old Trafford. Frenkie De Jong said no, and United plumped for 30-year-old Casemiro, who had told Madrid he fancied a new challenge.

Barring missing a staggering seven league games through various suspensions, Casemiro has enjoyed a good first season at Old Trafford and is being healthily reimbursed for his troubles.

8 Jack Grealish, Manchester City, £300,000 p/w

A menacing-looking Grealish holds onto the ball for Manchester City away at Fulham, 2023

Level with Casemiro is one of England’s most enigmatic attacking talents, Jack Grealish. Having struggled in his first season at Manchester City, the former-Aston Villa man has now become a crucial cog in the Pep Guardiola machine at City.

Known for his playful personality and well-documented antics off the field, Grealish earns well and is beginning to showcase his output in the blue side of Manchester.

7 Raheem Sterling, Chelsea, £325,000 p/w

Raheem Sterling expecting the pass vs. Everton.

Leaving behind a trophy-laden seven seasons with Manchester City, Raheem Sterling was always going to demand high wages. The Jamaica-born winger was a crucial part of City’s Premier League winning sides of 16-17, 17-18, 19-20 and 20-21.

His hefty wage demands were met by the new Chelsea new owner, Todd Boehly, and it seemed that Chelsea had secured a coup. While it hasn’t worked out for Sterling this season, the best years of his career are arguably in front of him.

Sterling will be hoping to secure a place in Chelsea’s first team, despite battling for a first-team place in such a bloated squad.

6 Rafael Varane, Manchester United, £340,000 p/w

Raphael Varane celebrates in Man Utd vs Barcelona

As we enter stratospheric sums of money, we reach French centre-back Rafael Varane, Manchester United’s first truly world-class defender since Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand were in their pomp.

The highest-earning defender on the list, Varane was signed out of sheer necessity for United. Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof had formed the base of their defence for several seasons. With little to show for it, Varane was sought after and signed at a steep premium in wages - the fee was a relatively modest £34m.

While he is injury-prone and can miss chunks of the season, the investment seems to be working at Old Trafford. He has since struck a functional relationship with Argentine Lisandro Martinez at the heart of United’s defence. With a sizeable chunk of time left on his deal which runs out in June 2026 (when Varane will be 33), United have secured a world-class player for the peak years of a centre-half's career.

5 Jadon Sancho, Manchester United, £350,000 p/w

The latest world-beating starlet to emerge into Dortmund’s first team, Jadon Sancho was the hottest property in Europe in 2018. He made his first England start at age 18 in a 5-0 demolition of the Czech Republic in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier – by then it was clear he was the next big thing in English football.

Fast-forward to 2021 and Manchester United beat out Manchester City and Chelsea to secure the Englishman’s signature. They paid an eye-watering £73,000,000, the second-highest fee for an English player behind new teammate Harry Maguire.

The winger possesses immense talent; he has a keen eye for a spectacular pass, close control and excellent vision. His wages have not been fully justified yet, but at 23, Sancho has his best footballing years ahead of him – United have him signed until 2026, with an option of a further year.

4 Mohamed Salah. Liverpool, £350,000 p/w

The first and only Liverpool player in this list – Mohamed Salah has entered legendary status at Anfield since his arrival in 2017. He played an integral role in Liverpool’s Champions League triumph in 2019. The Reds' Premier League title in 2020 has ushered in the most successful period on Merseyside since the 1980s.

Because of this, he is arguably the first player on the list to fully justify the extortionate fees he earns and arguably deserves for his efforts.

The winger's deal is up in June 2025, when Salah will be 33. Will Liverpool stick with him beyond his current deal, or are they already starting to plot for life beyond the Egyptian King with recent investments Darwin Núñez and Cody Gakpo?

3 David De Gea, Manchester United, £375,000 p/w

A bit of context for you.

September 1st 2015 - transfer deadline day. Real Madrid had been courting the Spanish number one for a while. Having agreed a £29 million deal with the Red Devils, which would have seen Keylor Navas make the opposite journey to Old Trafford, it appeared as though the deal was on. Only a miracle, or a broken fax machine, in this case, kept De Gea at Old Trafford.

Fast-forward another four seasons and De Gea had one year left on his deal. He has been toying with leaving Manchester behind and starting afresh for a while.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the then-United manager, saw this as a doomsday scenario - De Gea had won United’s Player of the Season award in four of the previous five campaigns. As such, an offer was put on the table for De Gea to earn the equivalent of a four-bed detached home in a leafy suburb per week. He understandably snapped this up. It made him the highest-paid goalkeeper in world football and, at the time, the best-paid Premier League player.

De Gea told United at the time: “It has been a privilege to spend eight years at this great club and the opportunity to continue my career at Manchester United is a genuine honour.”

The Spanish shot-stopper is officially out of contract in Summer 2023, but United have the option to extend this for another season.

2 Erling Haaland, Manchester City, £375,000 p/w

A jubilant Erling Haaland celebrates scoring his 35th goal of the Premier League campaign - an outright record for a single season. Vs. West Ham, 2023

The youngest player of our list, Erling Haaland is undoubtedly one of global football’s superstars. Imposing, eccentric, and dominating. A player who, at 22, has already scored over 200 career goals.

During his time in Germany with Borussia Dortmund, Haaland bagged a ludicrous 86 goals in 89 games. A lifelong City fan whose father famously played for the Citizens in the 90s, Haaland’s intentions to play in East Manchester were made clear in the summer of 2022. City snapped him up for a steal, £51 million.

While his base salary sits below the £400,000 p/w mark, it’s the lucrative bonuses within Haaland’s contract which set him above De Gea. Widely reported to be nearly doubling his wages based on performance incentives, sponsorship and competition wins, The Norwegian giant, in real terms, can earn over £800,000 every week (via TalkSport)

What City have shrewdly done is secure football’s hottest young property for his hungriest years. Content in their understanding that Haaland will play for another big European club at some point in his career, City can breathe easy knowing only a staggering, world-record-breaking deal will pry Haaland from their hands.

1 Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City, £400,000 p/w

De Bruyne celebrating his crucial goal in the 2022/23 Premier League title run-in vs. challengers Arsenal.

Ask most English football fans which player has earned the right to be paid the most, the majority will tell you Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian maestro has been universally praised for his peerless midfield play. A born creator who has twice won Premier League Playmaker of the Season and PFA Players’ Player of the Year, he possesses magnificent talent.

It’s no surprise then that, at 31, De Bruyne earns a higher base salary than any other player in the league.

At City since 2015, De Bruyne has helped usher in a period of immense success, specifically under the tutelage of manager Pep Guardiola. City have won four Premier League titles, five League Cups and an FA Cup with De Bruyne, with more surely on the way. He is a tireless engine in midfield with a wicked eye for the spectacular pass and the out-of-this-world finish.

City have De Bruyne under contract until 2025. With De Bruyne allegedly happy to retire at City ( via Man City Square