Comparing every Premier League club’s wage bill to its league position | OneFootball

Brentford, Brighton, Newcastle United and Arsenal are the Premier League’s biggest overachievers this season, while Liverpool, Chelsea, Everton and Leicester City are among the division’s biggest underachievers.

At least, that’s the case if you believe a club’s wage bill is a marker – more or less – or where they should be in the table.

The club with the lowest wage bill in the English top flight are Brentford, who are remarkably up in seventh and mounting a genuine challenge for European qualification. Thomas Frank’s Bees boast the biggest discrepancy – for better or worse – between their current league position and their expenditure on wages.

Brighton & Hove Albion’s story is a similar fairytale. The Seagulls have a shot at qualifying for the Champions League, which is something of a minor miracle when you consider how little their squad cost to assemble, and that their wage bill is just £28.3million – the third-lowest in the division.

Newcastle United may be entering a new era of investment, but they’re definitely punching above their weight to sit third in the table. You’d expect the wage bill of Eddie Howe’s squad (£62.6million – tenth in the division) to grow in the coming years, but for now they’re doing incredibly well to sit above the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in the table.

League leaders Arsenal have a relatively modest wage bill of £85.4million, which is the lowest of the traditional ‘big six’. With a return to the Champions League all but mathematically secured and potentially a Premier League title on the way, expect the Gunners’ wage bill to rise as they grow further in the coming years.

Title chasers Manchester City have famously spent big over recent years, but they’re currently outspent by Manchester United and Chelsea when it comes to wages.

Manchester United currently spend more than any other club in England on wages, which underlines just quite how poor it was for them to finish seventh with a record-low points tally last term.

They have shown improvement in 2022-23 under Erik ten Hag, still looking a solid bet to finish in the top four despite their current wobble, but they’re arguably still not quite be where they ought to given their expenditure on transfers and wages.

Chelsea (who spend £169.7million on wages – the second-most in the Premier League) are spectacularly underperforming down in the bottom half, so it’s perhaps no surprise that they made the decision to get rid of Graham Potter.

It’s a similar story for Liverpool, who register fourth in the Premier League’s wage bill charts but currently sit 8th.

However, it’s actually Leicester City, who are currently down in the relegation zone despite boasting the biggest wage bill outside the ‘big six’, that are doing worst in comparison to their outlay on wages.

Elsewhere, clubs like Tottenham, Wolves, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace’s league positions aren’t far off where their wage bill ranks.

We’ve listed every Premier League single club by their league position in comparison to their wage bill, ranking them in order of the biggest differences between the two.

Note: All wage bill data is via FBref.com, who source their numbers from Capology.

Brentford League Position: 7th Wage bill: 20th Total wage bill: £15.2million Difference: +13

Brighton League Position: 6th Wage bill: 18th Total wage bill: £28.3million Difference: +12

Newcastle United League Position: 3rd Wage bill: 10th Total wage bill: £62.6million Difference: +7

Arsenal League Position: 1st Wage bill: 6th Total wage bill: £85.4million Difference: +5

Fulham League Position: 10th Wage bill: 14th Total wage bill: £37.6million Difference: +4

Leeds United League Position: 17th Wage bill: 19th Total wage bill: £17.3million Difference: +2

Nottingham Forest League Position: 15th Wage bill: 17th Total wage bill: £28.5million Difference: +2

Manchester City League Position: 2nd Wage bill: 3rd Total wage bill: £163million Difference: +1

Wolves League Position: 13th Wage bill: 13th Total wage bill: £38.3million Difference: =

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Tottenham League Position: 5th Wage bill: 5th Total wage bill: £101.3million Difference: =

Bournemouth League Position: 16th Wage bill: 16th Total wage bill: £32million Difference: =

Crystal Palace League Position: 12th Wage bill: 11th Total wage bill: £59.1million Difference: -1

Aston Villa League Position: 9th Wage bill: 8th Total wage bill: £75.2million Difference: -1

Manchester United League Position: 4th Wage bill: 1st Total wage bill: £222.9million Difference: -3

Liverpool League Position: 8th Wage bill: 4th Total wage bill: £141.7million Difference: -4

West Ham United League Position: 14th Wage bill: 9th Total wage bill: £70.1million Difference: -5

Southampton League Position: 20th Wage bill: 15th Total wage bill: £35.3million Difference: -5

Everton League Position: 18th Wage bill: 12th Total wage bill: £43.1million Difference: -6

Chelsea League Position: 11th Wage bill: 2nd Total wage bill: £169.7million Difference: -9

Leicester League Position: 19th Wage bill: 7th Total wage bill: £78.7million Difference: -12