It is no secret that football is the most widely watched sport in the world.
And with the humongous viewership, comes incredible amounts of money.
And as it is, the footballers love to get a piece of the pie.
So prepare to be surprised as we look at 9 of the Highest Paid Premier League Players. Let us get started!
9. N’Golo Kante
£290,000 per week
N’Golo Kante has been nothing short of an exemplary professional since his remarkable breakout season with Leicester City.
After being the core of the Leicester side that did the impossible to win the Premier League title, he went on to do the same with Chelsea.
The French midfielder went to Stamford Bridge and took that side from 10th to 1st in one season. Since then, he has enjoyed winning the FA Cup, Europa League, and Champions League with the Premier League giants.
With the French National Team, Kante has been equally impressive as he was the first-teamer of the side that won the World Cup in 2018. As a result of his performances, many dub Kante as the ‘Makelele’ of this generation.
Do not be surprised if he asks for an increased wage in the coming months.
8. Raheem Sterling
£300,000 per week
Raheem Sterling is a player that has divided opinions among English and Manchester City fans.
Some argue that Pep Guardiola has bought Jack Grealish to ensure that Raheem Sterling starts warming the bench.
However, that doesn’t look like the case considering Sterling has featured in all league games so far this season.
We cannot deny that the former Barcelona coach has elevated the English wingers’ career since his move from Liverpool.
Under Guardiola, Sterling has hit the 20-goal-mark twice as City won three Premier League titles and reached a Champions League final.
Even though Sterling has this avoidable habit to miss sitters, we cannot ignore his goal-scoring numbers for both England and Manchester City. Gareth Southgate is also a huge fan of Sterling as he has been a first-teamer for England in the World Cup 2018 and Euro 2021 campaigns.
7. Jack Grealish
£300,000 per week
Jack Grealish was the standout player for Aston Villa in the 2020/21 season. Since the promotion of Villa to the Premier League, the English midfielder has been a breath of fresh air in the Premier League.
Last season, he secured more than 10 assists for Aston Villa. Only Harry Kane and Bruno Fernandes registered more assists in the Premier League season than the English midfielder.
However, you can argue and say that those players were playing in a more superior team than Grealish. Therefore, his numbers become even more outstanding.
Grealish was sensational against Liverpool last season, as he contributed to four goals in a 7-2 thrashing.
Then, he showed his talent against Arsenal at the Emirates. For England, he became an impact sub as he came off the bench twice to win games for England in the knockout stages of the European championships.
Manchester City paid top dollar to get their man. But will the Englishman remain consistent in justifying his price tag? Let’s wait and see.
6. Romelu Lukaku
£325,000 per week
Romelu Lukaku’s career, especially in the Premier League, has been nothing short of a roller-coaster.
Since he emerged into the spotlight after his hat-trick against Manchester United in 2013, Lukaku enjoyed a prolific Premier League career at Everton.
Lukaku scored more than 20 goals for three consecutive seasons in England, with Everton and Manchester United.
However, his end with the Red Devils wasn’t sweet as he became overweight and at times, a liability for Ole Gunnar Soljskaer’s men.
In 2019, Lukaku moved to Inter Milan. The Belgian smashed it in Italy as he scored 66 goals across two seasons and led Inter to their first Scudetto in over a decade. Now, he has been re-signed by Chelsea to become the striker for Thomas Tuchel’s European champions.
Chelsea struggled to score goals against the lower-ranked teams last season, which hampered their Premier League title challenge. With Lukaku, they will not need to worry about that as he has always been prolific against those sides.
However, his record against the top sides remains a question mark. Will he answer his Premier League critics? Time will tell.
5. Raphael Varane
£340,000 per week
Raphael Varane is one of the best center-backs in the last decade. As simple as that.
The Frenchman has won everything there is to win in domestic and international football. Varane’s center-back partnership with Sergio Ramos is considered to be one of the best in history.
That partnership resulted in 4 Champions League titles and 2 La Ligas for Real Madrid. Moreover, Varane continued to show his consistency in French colors as his partnership with Samuel Umtiti led to France becoming World Champions in 2018.
This season, Varane has moved to Manchester United. This move could have so easily happened 10 years ago when Sir Alex Ferguson scouted him. However, Zinedine Zidane grabbed him from Ligue 1 and he became one of the most decorated center-backs of all time.
4. Jadon Sancho
£350,000 per week
After being allowed to leave Manchester City, Jadon Sancho has truly established himself as one of the best wingers in the game right now. The England International’s goal involvement numbers with Borussia Dortmund have been nothing short of insane.
In the 2020/21 season, he had more than 20 assists to his name. That’s what happens when you have a clinical center forward ahead of you in Erling Haaland.
And with CR7 ahead of him now, he may as well emulate those numbers again.
Although he hasn’t managed to win the biggest trophies with his club and England National Team, he is willing to change his fortunes at Manchester United. What better than coming up against the club that made you leave for the Bundesliga.
3. David De Gea
£375,000 per week
David De Gea was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson as a replacement for Edwin Van Der Sar. With so many talented goalkeepers in the market, it was hard to believe that the skinny Spaniard was touted as a replacement for the great Dutchman.
In the initial period of his time at United, De Gea struggled with catches and committed numerous mistakes.
However, there were two defining moments in his first season that changed his career. Firstly, he saved Robin Van Persie’s penalty in the 8-2 demolition of Arsenal.
Secondly, he saved Juan Mata’s free-kick in that season’s FA Cup fixture against Chelsea. Those moments completely changed De Gea’s fortunes and he has never looked back since.
De Gea won his first and only Premier League title in 2013 with Manchester United. After that, he became arguably the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.
His consistency and world-class performances saw him win four of the five Manchester United’s Player of the Year awards from 2014 till 2018.
There is no doubt that De Gea is a Manchester United legend and the United fans will be hoping to see more great performances from him in what seems to be the twilight of his United career.
2. Kevin De Bruyne
£400,000 per week
In a squad full of champions, Kevin De Bruyne is the highest earner at Manchester City.
Since moving to the blue side of Manchester from Wolfsburg, the Belgian has established himself as one of the greatest midfielders in Premier League history.
Since his debut in 2015, no player has been involved in more goals in the Premier League than De Bruyne.
The former Chelsea man has been the core of the Manchester City side that has won three Premier League titles and completed the domestic treble in 2019.
Even though he is yet to win his first Champions League title, Pep Guardiola is trying all he can to ensure that his side gets over the line after losing the final to Chelsea last season.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
£510,000 per week
You won’t be giving a huge wage of £510,000 a week to anyone unless he is one of the greatest players to play the game.
And Cristiano Ronaldo ticks all the boxes to be considered one. The Portugal captain recently completed his move back to Manchester United from Juventus.
After having won three Premier League titles and a Champions League with the Red Devils, Ronaldo is determined to make more history with them.
In his previous six seasons with Manchester United, the former Real Madrid man scored 118 goals in 292 games.
In the coming two years with United, Ronaldo will have his eyes set on domestic and European glory with the club that made him who he is today.
Final Word
The fun part about all this is that these wages are not the end of the earning for the footballing superstars.
Every single contract has dozens of bonuses depending on appearances, goals, clean sheets, etc.
So footballers are probably making even more money than what we have mentioned here today.
Working hard for years and years does pay handsomely, doesn’t it?
