Behold, the Premiership’s top earners

The English Premier League is the most valuable football league in the world. Due to a massively bumped up TV deal, the Premiership is awash with cash.

Relatively smaller teams such as Crystal Palace, Stoke and Sunderland can now afford to buy players from European giants like Bayern Munich, AC Milan, and even Barcelona.

However, when it comes to wages, the big boys are still miles ahead of the rest, with Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea commanding the bulk of English football’s top moneymen.

Here are the 20 best paid.

1. Paul Pogba – Manchester United (£290,000 a week)

Pogba   Picture: The Independent

Paul Pogba is the prodigal son who returned to his father’s house and was welcomed with fanfare. The Frenchman left Manchester United unceremoniously in 2012 after failing to nail a place in Sir Alex Ferguson’s team. But he grew to become a star in Juventus and decided to return “home” for a world record fee of  €105 million.

Now he is the best-paid player in England. Not bad for a guy who left just three years ago on a free transfer. However, he has not exactly lit up the league. But that hasn’t stopped him from smiling home with a truckload of cash at the end of each week.

2. Wayne Rooney – Manchester United (£260,000)

Rooney    Picture: Daily Express

Wayne Rooney is the child who often throws up a tantrum knowing that his indulgent parents will reward him with a chocolate. The Man United captain has had his wages jacked up each time he threatens to join another club. He was the highest paid star in Manchester – and England – until Paul Pogba arrived. However, “Shrek” has failed to reenact his amazing goal-scoring form under Jose Mourinho and now he spends more time on the bench than on the field. And at the age of 31, it seems the once prolific striker has reached the twilight of his impressive career. He won’t bother; he has more than enough pension.

3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Manchester United (£250,000)

Ibrahimovic   Picture: The Guardian

The man with the biggest ego in football matches it with immense performances on the field. He is so cocky he addresses himself in the third person. But after winning trophies in four different countries you can hardly argue with him. At the age of 35 most of his mates are retiring, but Zlatan is "refiring."

The Swede joined Man U in the summer on a one-year deal because he wants to win something in England after doing it in Holland, Italy, Spain and France. He settled quickly and said has scored some crucial goals as the team struggles in an unfamiliar mid-table position.

4. Sergio Aguero – Manchester City (£240,000)

Aguero   Picture: BBC

Sergio Aguero arrived England in 2011 with much fanfare. And he proved his worth by scoring the goal that gave Manchester City its first league title in 44 years. Since then his career has gone nowhere but up and he is considered by many to be the best striker in England.

Aguero is the highest South American scorer in the history of the Premier League. He averages a goal every 109 minutes, the highest goals per minute ratio since the Premier League was formed in 1992. On November 5, 2016, he scored his 150th goal for Manchester City.

Happy with such performance, the management of the club has rewarded the Argentine with a new contract to match his undoubted talent.

5.  Yaya Toure – Manchester City (£220,000)

Toure   Picture: www.101greatgoals.com

Yaya Toure was once the highest paid player in England, until Wayne Rooney’s contract was reviewed upwards in 2013. However, the Ivorian remains the highest paid African in the history of the Premier League.

Though he didn’t feature initially in Pep Guardiola’s plans, the midfielder has played himself back into reckoning, giving five-star performances in the few games he has been called upon.

However, his contract ends at the end of the season and, due to his fractured relationship with City manager Guardiola, it is hard to see him at the Etihad beyond June 2017. He will also be 34 years old in May. Maybe it will not be such a bad time to move on.

6. Eden Hazard – Chelsea (£200,000)

Hazard   Picture: Forbes.com

At the end of the 2014-15 season Eden Hazard was named PFA Footballer of the Year due to his extraordinary displays. He was so good that he was often compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two best players in the world right now.

But the next season, his form dropped drastically and he went without scoring a goal in an astonishing 30 matches. This season, thankfully, the Belgian midfield maestro has regained his remarkable form, lighting up the league once again with exciting displays and wonder goals. The 25-year-old is the one who makes Chelsea tick and when he in in form, the Blues are difficult to stop.

7. David Silva – Manchester City (£200,000)

Silva   Picture: The Independent

David Silva is the best-paid left-footed player in the Premier League. His left foot is so magical it seems the ball is permanently glued to it. That, alongside his excellent first touch and tremendous passing ability, earned him the nickname “Merlin.”

Silva joined City in July 2010 and has been an integral part of the team, helping them to success in the Premiership. He was given a new contract in 2013 and it took him to the top echelon of superstars in the league.

The 30-year-old Spaniard knows how to get out of tight spaces and opening up the defence for his teammates. Small wonder he is regarded as one of the best players in the world in his position.

8. David De Gea – Manchester United (£185,000)

De Gea   Picture: manunited.com

In eighth position is Spain goalkeeper David De Gea. That makes him the best-paid goalkeeper in England.

When he first appeared in United colours in 2010, he looked shaky and unsure of himself and many wondered if Sir Alex Ferguson had made a mistake coughing out £17.8 million for the then 20-year-old. That is the British record fee for a goalkeeper. But slowly and steadily, the young Spaniard asserted himself and has become an asset to the team.

For three straight seasons, De Gea, now 26, has been named the best player in the team, the first player to achieve such a feat. He has also grown to become one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

9. Raheem Sterling – Manchester City (£180,000)

Sterling   Picture: www.mirror.co.uk

In 2014 Raheem Sterling received the Golden Boy award, which effectively made him the best player in Europe under the age of 21. From then he became hot property, sought after by the world’s best clubs.

In July 2015, Sterling moved to Manchester City from Liverpool for £49 million – the highest amount ever for an English player. Critics accused him of going after money but the young Englishman said all he wanted to do was play with better players. That statement – and the fractious nature of his transfer – made him an eternal enemy with Liverpool fans.

The Jamaican-born attacker has rediscovered his form under Pep Guardiola and is proving to be worth every penny spent on him.

10. Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City (£170,000)

De Bruyne   Picture: Talksport

Kevin De Bruyne was always on the radar as a prodigious talent but somehow, while he was at Chelsea, Jose Mourinho didn’t recognize this. He sold De Bruyne to German club Wolfsburg for £18 million.

In Germany the young Belgian flourished and three seasons later he was named Footballer of the Year. Inevitably, bigger clubs hovered for his signature. Though Wolfsburg fought tooth and nail to keep him, they could not resist the £55 million Manchester City offered. It was the highest amount the English club has ever paid for a player.

De Bruyne, regarded as one of the best midfielders in the Europe, signed a six-year contract with Manchester City in 2015.

11. Cesc Fabregas – Chelsea (£170,000)

Fabregas   Picture: www.4cesc.com

Cesc Fabregas arrived Stamford Bridge as a surprise buy by Jose Mourinho. The former Arsenal captain had returned to Spain to play for boyhood club Barcelona. But after just three seasons he was regarded as surplus to requirement.

When Arsenal – which had the first option to buy back their former captain – turned a blind eye, Mourinho swooped. And Fabregas landed in Chelsea, to the consternation of Arsenal fans. He helped the team win the Premier League in the 2014-15 season. But the next season his form – as well as that of the whole team – dropped drastically. The talented midfielder has regained a semblance of his impressive form but he remains on the fringes of Antonio Conte’s plans.

12. Mezut Ozil – Arsenal (£140,000)

Ozil   Picture: The Independent

In September 2013 Mezut Ozil was inexplicably sold by Real Madrid and a grateful Arsene Wenger bought him for a club record  £42 million. The transfer also makes him the most expensive German footballer in history.

Initially the playmaker found it hard to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League but he has grown in stature to become the player who makes the Gunners tick.

Ozil has just 18 months left on his contract and the club is keen on tying him down on bumper new five-year deal. But contract talks are slow, especially as Arsenal will clearly have to break their wage structure to keep the assist king.

13. Juan Mata – Manchester United (£140,000)

Mata   Picture: Skysports.com

Juan Mata’s fans were afraid that Mourinho’s arrival at Manchester United would signal the end of the Spaniard’s career at Old Trafford, the same way it did at Chelsea. However the midfielder has played his way into Mourinho’s good books.

Mata arrived Chelsea from Valencia in 2011 on a £23.5 million transfer fee. He quickly became a fan favourite but at the beginning of the 2014-15 season, he didn’t get much playing time and Chelsea sold him to Manchester United for a then club record fee of £37.1 million. United offered him an improved four-year contract and with the way he is playing it is very likely that the club will extend his deal for a few more years.

14. Bastian Schweinsteiger – Manchester United (£135,000)

Schweinsteiger   Picture: Daily Express

When Jose Mourinho arrived Old Trafford in the summer, one of the first things he did was to tell Bastian Schweinsteiger, a World Cup winner, that he had no place in his squad. However, Schweinsteiger preferred to remain at Man U, believing that his time would come. His faith paid off. Late last month, he was included in the team for the first time.

Before joining United in 2015, the 32-year-old had spent 13 seasons at Bayern Munich, making exactly 500 appearances for the German club. Many people have criticized the way the experienced German superstar has been treated by Mourinho. However, that has not stopped Schweinsteiger from smiling to the bank at the end of every week.

15. Alexis Sanchez – Arsenal (£130,000)

Sanchez   Picture: skysports.com

Like Mezut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez has only 18 months left on his current contract at Arsenal and he is locked in contract talks with the Gunners. As one of the best players in the league, he demands to be on the same pay level with the best-paid players. Arsenal will have to break the bank to keep him.
This season the Chilean superstar has been unplayable. Like the Energizer bunny, he seems unstoppable and is never tired. He wants to play always, and even gets angry when he's substituted. 
Bought from Barcelona for £31.7 million, Sanchez is Arsenal’s third most expensive player. This season, Arsene Wenger converted Sanchez to a striker and the 27-year-old has repaid the faith with stunning goals.

16. Dimitri Payet – West Ham (£125,000)

Payet   Picture: Eurosport

West Ham signed Dimitri Payet from Marseille in June 2015 for £10 million – an amount that now looks like a bargain. After a series of stunning displays the Frenchman became one of the revelations in the league. In February 2016, less than a year after his arrival, he was given a new five-year contract to ward off bigger clubs.

Even though his wages were bumped up, analysts say it is just a matter of time before he moves to a top club. Not bad for a guy who was born in the tiny island called Reunion, with a population of just 850,000.

17. Willian – Chelsea (£120,000)

Willian   Picture: Wikipedia

In August 2013, Willian Borges da Silva was on his way to Tottenham Hotspurs when Chelsea “highjacked” him for £32 million. Since then the Brazilian has rewarded the faith placed on him with some scintillating displays. He signed a new four-year contract in June to push to his weekly wages into six figures.

The winger says he has no regrets snubbing Spurs at the last minute. At Chelsea he has won the Premier League and League Cup. He is also on a bumper contract he would never earn at Spurs.

The dead ball specialist was a stand out performer for Chelsea when the team underperformed and many saw him as the team’s player of the season.

18. Vincent Kompany – Manchester City £120,000

Kompany   Picture: www.101greatgoals.com

Vincent Kompany, Manchester City’s charismatic captain, is the only defender on this list. He has led City to win two Premier League titles and one FA Cup since his arrival from Hamburg in 2008.

The Belgian, one of City’s longest serving members, was named Premier League Player of the Season in 2010-11. He is one of the best defenders in world football but he has been plagued by injuries in the past few seasons.

Should he decide to call time on his injury-ravaged career, the 30-year-old has been tipped to become a top TV pundit because of his vast knowledge of the game. He is also a part time student of Business Administration at the Manchester Business School.

19. Daniel Sturridge – Liverpool (£120,000)

Sturridge   Picture: Daily Star

Daniel Sturridge is the only Liverpool player in the top 20 big earners’ list. The England striker’s career has been ravaged by injuries and he is now a fringe player in Jurgen Klopp’s team.

He joined Liverpool from Chelsea in January 2013 for £12 million because he wanted to play as a striker. At Anfield he didn’t disappoint, scoring 21 goals in the 2013-14 season. Only Luis Suarez, his then Liverpool teammate, scored more.

There are speculations that he may be sold at the end of the season because of his recurrent injuries. If that happens Kop fans will miss his signature jig goal celebration.

20. Thibaut Courtois – Chelsea (£120,000)

Courtois  Picture: Fox Sports

Thibaut Courtois is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. The Belgian shot stopper was signed for £8 million from Genk on a five-year deal. A few weeks later, he was loaned to Atletico Madrid in Spain where he spent three successful seasons. On his return to Stamford Bridge, he edged out Petr Cech, forcing the latter to move across town to Arsenal.

Courtois, the youngest goalkeeper ever to play for the Belgian national team, signed a new, improved five-year contract with Chelsea in September 2014. He has had some shaky performances but at just 24, he has a long time to cement his place as one of the best of all time.