It’s not about the money; it’s about passion. I bet you’ve heard that a thousand times before when someone was telling you about why they started playing football. Yet, the one thing no one can turn a blind eye to is players’ salaries, often discussed in the media.
I saw many debates about whether a footballer deserves the salary they get. From underpaid to overpaid players, football lovers witnessed many controversial contracts. All this led me to explore and compile a list of the highest paid Premier League players in the last 20 years or so and let you be the judge about the overall fairness behind it.
Frank Lampard – Season 2004/05
Lampard was arguably one of the best midfielders for most of his career. In the 2004/05 season, Jose Mourinho coached Chelsea. In the same season, Lampard got a contract paying him £98,000 per week.
The Englishman scored lots of important goals for his club, which also won the title that season. Lampard’s overall skills were key contributors to Chelsea’s overall performance.
Steven Gerrard – Season 2005/06
Another amazing player coming from the Reds’ squad, Steven Gerrard, played big for big money. The Premier League season 2005/06 saw Stevie G getting £100,000 every week.
Liverpool’s fans were amazed by Gerrard’s decision not to leave this club for Chelsea. Gerrard stayed at Anfield during the most difficult times. The Reds’ midfielder even led this team to the Champions League title one season before.
Andriy Shevchenko – Season 2006/07
One of the best, if not the best Ukrainian football players of all time, Andriy Shevchenko, became part of Chelsea’s squad in the season 2006/07. Shevchenko was an absolute monster while playing for Milan in Italy.
It’s somewhat strange that he couldn’t have a similar performance for Chelsea. Getting £118,000 per week may have been too much for a four-goal-in-30-matches performance.
John Terry – Season 2007/08
Roman Abramovich was definitely apt to make big signings while he was the Chelsea owner. Apart from Lampard and Shevchenko, another player who is in the top 10 highest paid Premier League players list is John Terry.
The English defender used to get £135,000 a week. And how could he not? I mean, Terry was one of the best defenders in the entire league. His great stamina, defensive IQ, and even header skills made him excel and get the status and the salary he deserved.
Robinho – Season 2008/09
Back in the era of big talents who were often compared to old football legends, like Pele, Robinho was the main attraction for many big clubs. One of the teams that landed an eye on him was Manchester City.
The Citizens signed Robinho and offered him a £160,000 weekly deal. The Brazilian accepted this offer and became the highest paid footballer for the 2008/09 season. Robinho did play well, scoring 14 goals in 31 Premier League fixtures.
Still, he never met his true potential nor the expectations of many experts. He went back to Brazil soon after this season. Later on, Robinho played for Milan after finally moving away from the most elite football clubs in the world.
Carlos Tevez – Season 2009/10 – 2012/13
Just as we saw Robinho leave, a new face appeared at the City’s door. It was Carlos Tevez, whose contract allowed him to earn £250,000 per week. Man Utd was the first Premier League club that Tevez joined.
He spent two seasons at Old Trafford. After making 99 appearances for United, scoring 34 goals and making 14 assists, the Argentine decided to strengthen the attacking line of United’s fiercest rivals, City.
Some think that he justified his status of the top 10 highest paid Premier League players, while others don’t. All I know is that his stats in City were better than when he played for United.
Tevez scored 73 goals in the 148 games that he played. He also made 32 assists in the same period. It may be that certain fans and experts criticise the Argentine’s performance-salary ratio because he had better stats playing for Juventus after he left City.
Wayne Rooney – Season 2013/14 – 2016/17
One of the most passionate strikers during the 2000s and 2010s was surely Wayne Rooney. The Englishman said many times that his favourite club was Everton. He spent the first two seasons of his professional football career there before he moved to Manchester United.
He stayed at United for as many as 13 seasons and was the highest paid player during the last three Premier League seasons (£300,000). Even before, Rooney was one of the quintessential players for the Red Devils.
He made a record-breaking number of appearances (559) and scored 259 goals for United. Although he played as an attacker, the Englishman made 139 all-time assists for this club as well.
The proof of his greatness also lies in the numerous awards he received. Rooney was the one-time top scorer in the Club World Cup. Moreover, the so-called “Shrek” received the Football of the Year award in England in 2010.
Finally, he was also Player of the Year four times while he was part of United. Not to mention the various trophies he won with this club. Some of the most notable ones are the Champions League, Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup, etc.
Alexis Sanchez – Season 2018/19
After Wayne Rooney, van Persie, and some other great forwards, United struggled to find great strikers for a long time. One of the alternatives to the aforementioned top scorers was Alexis Sanchez.
Upon the signing, we read the news about the Chiliean’s high £350,000-a-week salary. Sanchez even surpassed Paul Pogba, who broke the transfer, along with the salary record, at that time.
However, the Chilliean’s form was bad throughout most of his stay at Old Trafford. He only got to score a few goals before his loan to Inter.
David de Gea – Season 2019/20
In one of his last seasons in the United’s squad, David de Gea was the highest paid player in the Premier League. His weekly salary was (£375,000). Now, everyone who knows de Gea also knows his devotion.
Man Utd made the transfer back in 2011. For someone who was part of one team’s squad for so long and who performed so well, many praise David de Gea and think that his salary at that time mirrored his skills and determination.
Gareth Bale – Season 2020/21
With £560,000 per week, Gareth Bale is the number one footballer among the highest paid Premier League players of all time. The Welshman was part of the Spurs team for six seasons (2007-2013).
He spent the longest part of his career in Real Madrid. One season before going to Los Angeles, Bale was on loan at Tottenham. The Welshman played unbelievably well in the past.
His poor form in Real made this club lend him to the Spurs and pay the major part of his loan. What’s great here is that Bale scored 19 goals for the club, which shaped him into the player he was.
Cristiano Ronaldo – Season 2021/22
Ronaldo takes the second spot on the list of the highest paid Premier League players of all time. One of the best players of all time went from Sporting to Man Utd more than 20 years ago. The Portuguese said to himself that Sir Alex Ferguson played a key role in his becoming the master of this sport.
So, after many seasons in Real Madrid and three seasons in Juventus, Ronaldo came back to Manchester United, saying that he did that because he respected this club and its former coach, Ferguson. Well, he also had another good reason for this, and that was his £480,000 weekly salary.
Kevin De Bruyne – Season 2022/23 and 2023/24
Kevin De Bruyne is one of the best midfielders in modern football. The Belgian also plays for one of the strongest clubs in the world, Manchester City, whose manager is one of the top coaches, Pep Guardiola.
De Bruyne’s stats speak for themselves, and they feature seven goals with a number of assists (17) in the 2022/23 season. Unfortunately, this player suffered an injury and played only 18 games in the season 2023/24.
In just 18 matches, the Belgian managed to score four times and make 10 assists. In both the last and the penultimate season, De Bruyne’s salary was £400,000 a week. If we take this into account, we’ll see that Bruyne holds the third position when it comes to the highest paid Premier League players in history, right after Bale and Ronaldo.
