The Premier League is the most lucrative division in world football and clubs are able to pay huge salaries to their star players.

Wage bills have continued to rise in recent years and the highest-paid player in the Premier League now earns over £20m-per-year.

But it’s not just the ‘top six’ that spend a lot on wages as TV deals ensure that West Ham and Aston Villa now have bigger wage bills than the likes of AC Milan and Sevilla.

Using data from Capology, we’ve ranked every Premier League club in 2022/23 by their annual wage bill.

20. Brentford – £33,280,000

Thomas Frank has done a sensational job at Brentford, who continue to punch above their financial weight in the Premier League.

The average wage of a Brentford player is £1,386,667-per-year and centre-back Ben Mee is their top earner on £55,000-per-week.

19. Brighton – £41,756,000

Brighton’s unlikely charge into the European places is made even more impressive by the fact that they have the second-lowest wage bill in the Premier League.

Big-name players often demand huge wages but the Seagulls have become renowned for unearthing hidden gems and signing them in low-cost deals.

18. Bournemouth – £46,488,000

While Bournemouth are now owned by American billionaire Bill Foley, they have previously had to conduct business on a modest budget and their annual wage bill is one of just three recorded at under £50m.

Jefferson Lerma is their highest earner on £55,000-per-week, but he is out of contract at the end of the season and could receive bigger offers from other Premier League sides. 

17. Leeds United – £56,420,000

After selling Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips last summer, Leeds now have the 17th lowest wage bill in England’s top-flight and it shows as they are currently sitting in the relegation zone.

16. Fulham – £56,420,000

Since wasting over £100m on transfers in the summer of 2018, Fulham owner Shahid Khan has tried to ensure that the club operates within its means.

Despite having a squad with big-name stars like Bernd Leno, Willian and Alexsandar Mitrovic, no Fulham player earns more than £90,000-per-week.

15. Wolves – £61,256,000

Wolves owners’ Fosun are reportedly looking for minority investment in the club after racking up huge debts and they’ve had to slash the wage bill in recent years.

It could fall even further in the summer as Joao Moutinho (£5.2m-per-year), Adama Traore (£2.86m-per-year) and Diego Costa (£2.6m-per-year) are all out of contract at the end of the season.

14. Southampton – £62,296,000

Southampton are currently rooted to the bottom of the Premier League and they’ll have to offload some high-earners if they suffer relegation to the Championship.

James Ward-Prowse, who is the highest-paid player in the club’s history, looks set to leave in the summer and has been linked with Tottenham, Newcastle and West Ham.

13. Crystal Palace – £68,120,000

Palace are spending nearly 10 per cent of their annual wage bill on talisman and club legend Wilfried Zaha, who pockets £6,760,000-per-year.

But the 30-year-old is out of contract at the end of the 2022/23 season and has reportedly been offered a £9m-per-year deal from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad.

12. Nottingham Forest – £74,150,000

Forest’s annual wage bill was just £37m in 2020/21 but their promotion to the Premier League and a revamp of the playing squad has seen that figure more than double in the last two years.

11. Leicester City – £79,820,000

Although Leicester are struggling in this season’s Premier League, they aren’t exactly doing it on the cheap – spending over £79.8m on player wages.

The Foxes were once regarded as a model for other clubs to follow but poor recruitment in recent years has contributed to a bloated squad and a big wage bill.

10. Everton – £81,536,000

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has poured a lot of money into the club since his takeover in February 2016 but hasn’t been getting a good return on his investments.

Despite being midtable in the wages ranking, the Toffees are currently in danger of being relegated from England’s top division for the first time since 1951.

9. Newcastle United – £81,562,000

Despite now being bankrolled by Saudi owners, Newcastle are yet to fork out ridiculous sums and their annual wage bill sits at a relatively conservative £81.56m per year.

They have been linked with Declan Rice and Mason Mount but are reportedly unwilling to shatter their current wage structure, which sees top earners such as Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak command around £120,000-per-week.

8. West Ham – £84,500,000

While West Ham have struggled in the Premier League in 2022/23, a lot of their players got pay rises after qualifying for European football in back-to-back seasons.

Their wage bill would be even higher if Declan Rice, who is currently earning £60,000-per-week, accepted a new contract offer worth £200,000-per-week.

7. Aston Villa – £91,670,000

Villa’s billionaire owners have invested significant sums into the squad and that is reflected in the wage bill as they are putting £91.67m each year into their squad’s respective bank accounts.

The likes of Lucas Digne, Boubacar Kamara and Phillippe Coutinho have all moved to Villa Park in the last 18 months and are on hefty contracts.

6. Tottenham – £110,240,000

Despite giving Harry Kane and Son Heung-min a combined £20,280,000-per-year, Spurs still have the lowest wage bill of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ clubs.

5. Arsenal – £110,396,000

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been keen to offload ageing players on inflated wages, allowing the likes of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave in order to reduce the club’s wage bill.

Only a handful of players have enormous salaries at Arsenal now and their top earner is Gabriel Jesus, who signed a £265,000-a-week contract following his move from Manchester City last summer.

4. Liverpool – £164,580,000

Liverpool have won every major honour in the last four years and their wage bill has subsequently soared as players have been rewarded for their key performances.

Mohamed Salah recently became the highest-paid player in Liverpool’s history after signing a contract extension that sees him earn £18.2m-a-year.

3. Manchester City – £186,160,000

It turns out sustaining one of the most star-studded squads in the world doesn’t come cheap, with Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish all on huge sums per week.

On top of player wages, City also have the highest-paid manager in the Premier League as Pep Guardiola earns a reported £19,721,724-per-year.

2. Manchester United – £211,094,000

Despite terminating Cristiano Ronaldo’s £515,000-a-week contract at Old Trafford, United still have an eye-watering wage bill.

United have four players earning more than £15m-a-year – David de Gea (£19.5m-a-year), Jadon Sancho (£18.2m-a-year), Casemiro (£18.2m-a-year) and Raphael Varane (£17.68m-a-year).

But they are looking to change their wage structure and have reportedly introduced a ‘Cristiano Ronaldo rule’ to ensure no first-team player earns more than £200,000-a-week.

1. Chelsea – £215,644,000

Todd Boehly’s recent spending spree has left Chelsea with a bloated first-team squad and the highest wage bill in the country.

The players haven’t been justifying their huge wages in 2022/23 as Chelsea are currently on course for their worst-ever points tally in the Premier League.

According to the Daily Mail, some Chelsea players will have a 30 per cent reduction in their wages next season after failing to secure Champions League qualification.

READ MORE: Every Premier League club’s record signing: Chelsea, Man City top list; Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal playing catch up

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