Your complete guide to the top 10 highest-paid football players in the Premier League in 2021.
The 2021/22 Premier League season is well underway and the big names are all out to play. Every team knows how important starting off on the right (or left) foot can be, and that’s not just to fuel the over-eager ‘top of the league’ chants.
Over 500 players will represent the 20 top-flight teams this season, with just over 70 of them reported to boast contracts worth over £100,000 per week. The following 10 superstars certainly have the skills to pay the bills!
RadioTimes.com examines the top 10 highest-paid players in the Premier League – the world’s most lucrative division. We’ve based our figures on reports from Forbes, reputable news outlets and a variety of official sources to get us as close to the mark as possible.
All figures mentioned are before tax and do not include the array of bonuses and extra fees stashed away in the fine print of every contract. Players’ various sponsorship deals are also not included but, in some cases, add zeroes to the end of their pay cheques.
Plus once you’ve checked out the highest-paid players in the Premier League, find out how to watch the Premier League on TV.
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Highest-paid footballers in the Premier League 2021/22
10. Harry Kane – £200,000 p/w
Only Spurs fans shared Harry’s teary sentiment at the close of their last home game in the league. While the rest of the league’s elite teams dared to hope the centre-forward would bring his quality to their own team.
The Golden Boot winner of last season is dead-set on beating Alan Shearer’s record, which has remained since the Geordie’s retirement in 2006.
Kane handed in a transfer request at the end of last season but still hasn’t made a move away from his long-term club having signed a six-year deal in 2018.
This gives Spurs chairman Daniel Levy a lot of clout going into negotiations and, so far, he’s not looking to step down on his demand of £150m for this window. Kane opened up to Gary Neville during a round of golf, insisting he had at least five years left in him.
9. Anthony Martial – £250,000 p/w
You’d expect a fighting display from Martial this season but the United centre forward was only able to contribute four goals and three assists during his side’s 2020/21 campaign.
Sustaining an injury while playing for France led to his lack of a monstrous goal tally while he was omitted from the French Euro 2020 squad.
His contract keeps him at the club until 2024 and, so long as he’s being paid a cool quarter of a million, Martial is not likely to angle for a move away.
8. Thomas Partey – £250,000 p/w
The deep-lying central midfielder signed from Atletico Madrid in 2020 in a three-year deal for a fee of around £45m.
Unfortunately for the Gunners, who believed their newest star would help bolster their weary defence, Partey suffered two injuries within a month of domestic league appearances.
He is yet to score for his new employers, though he can be seen on the Colney training ground practising his outside-of-the-box screamers via social media. Fans will hope one hits the target soon.
7. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – £250,000 p/w
The Gabon superstar was penned a new deal in September 2020, securing three more years at the club. We can see where the spoils of his contract go on, with Auba having been snapped with a horde of golden sports cars in recent times.
The misfiring star striker’s previous season was blighted with a malaria infection while on international duty as he only managed 10 goals in the league. The previous campaign he racked up 22.
Arsenal fans will hope their talisman’s form flips as fast as he can so they can feast their eyes on his iconic celebrations after a flurry of goals in the league this time around.
6. Paul Pogba – £290,000 p/w
Amid transfer speculation, Paul Pogba stays put in the United squad with just a year left on his current contract.
Last season was riddled with uncertainty as super-agent Mino Raiola touted him for a move away from Old Trafford during the campaign. Roy Keane and Gary Neville voiced their frustration at the drama during key points in the season, where they felt Pogba ought to have concentrated on his performances in the league and not taking his eyes away from the prize.
Now 28, Pogba boasts the experience needed in the dressing room for United to finally step up and win a Premier League title for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s managerial retirement in 2013.
5. N’Golo Kanté – £290,000 p/w
If the beautiful game had a poster boy for sheer work rate, the Frenchman would be a shoe-in.
Many have tipped the defensive midfield terrier as a potential Ballon d’Or winner for his unrelenting stamina in an impressive Chelsea season.
Kanté’s humility is fast-becoming the stuff of legend after driving a Mini Cooper to and from training and Stamford Bridge. Teammate Antonio Rudiger told an interviewer that “if you don’t like Kanté, then you’ve got problems”.
4. Raheem Sterling – £300,000 p/w
A strong Euro 2020 campaign saw the 26-year-old score four on the way to the final. He also racked up 10 goals and seven assists in the league. While they won’t go down as his highest figures, the summer of 2021 has certainly rebuilt Sterling’s aura.
Soon to step into his prime years, his current deal lasts for two more years at the Etihad. Pep has purported to have “restarted” talks of a renewal in the not-too-distant future.
We think he should spend his wages on whatever he wants, just like any other person, along with the fact that his story shouldn’t be twisted to fuel the insecurities of a deadweight media consumer.
3. Jack Grealish – £300,000 p/w
Nationwide heartthrob Grealish has joined title holders Man City, signing a six-year deal for his services, in a move that will add plenty of zeroes to his bank balance.
A lifelong Villa fan and club player since the age of six, the 25-year-old has secured a podium finish on our Top 10 list.
Grealish has enjoyed plenty of hype in the last couple of years, particularly following his exploits with England at Euro 2020, but now he has a British transfer record price tag on his CV, can he justify his enormous cost and weekly wages?
2. David De Gea – £375,000 p/w
De Gea kept nine clean sheets in 26 appearances last season and takes second spot with his contract pledging his future between the sticks at United until 2023.
His club allowed him paternal leave last season to welcome the birth of his first daughter Yanay, with academy graduate Dean Henderson proving a more-than reliable replacement.
Now aged 30, we’ll see whether De Gea has the staying power of previous long-serving United stoppers such as Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar.
1. Kevin De Bruyne – £380,000 p/w
Topping this lavish list for the year is a key piece in Pep Guardiola’s tactical jigsaw. De Bruyne recorded six goals and 12 assists in just 26 Premier League appearances last term.
He was a key cog in reclaiming the Premier League title from Liverpool last campaign. The fiery Belgian international is now back on the hunt for silverware after his side fell short of the much-discussed quadruple in 2021/22, which would have consisted of the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup trophies.
His contract extension takes him to 2025 and if things go to plan for Pep Guardiola and his men, they could see their beloved midfielder surpass 200 league appearances for the club. If he sees his illustrious career out at the Etihad, there’s a strong possibility he could eclipse and surpass the number held by fellow countryman and club legend Vincent Kompany and nail down his place as one of the league’s finest ever players – not only its highest-paid jewel.
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