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With football comes passion, drama and talent, however, the modern-day game has succumbed to glamour, stardom and wealth. The power structure in world football has seen a monumental shift with players now becoming more influential than the clubs they represent. Footballers, as a result, are now not only changing clubs on the back of massive transfer fees but also demanding incredible amounts of salaries and wages.
Even then, there are certain players who, despite impressing many with their performances on a weekly basis, have not been rewarded financially. Therefore, in this section, we take a look at some high-profile players who are currently underpaid at their respective clubs.
#5. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Arguably the best right-back in the world currently, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold is on a meagre £40,000-per-week. The 21-year-old defender has been Jurgen Klopp’s most reliable attacking outlet apart from his illustrious front-three and his 10 assists in the Premier League represent just that. The Englishman is just behind Kevin de Bruyne (16) in that department, who is having an extraordinary season for Manchester City.
Alexander-Arnold is the perfect modern-day right back: pacy, athletic and instinctive. In his short Liverpool career, he has already tasted Champions League success and is currently a few matches away from lifting the Premier League trophy. A boyhood Red, he is already touted to be a club legend in the future, especially because of his unforgettable, match-winning assist to Divock Origi in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona.
The full-back has had another brilliant season for the Reds at the right side of defence, and his performance away at Leicester City will be one of the highlights of this season. He scored a belter from outside-the-box and assisted another two goals as Liverpool thumped the Foxes 4-0 at the King Power Stadium in December.
Despite all of his, he is one of the club’s lowest earners with only Joe Gomez, Loris Karius and Rhian Brewster behind him, one of whom plays at Besiktas and one in the Championship. Astonishingly, Alexander-Arnold earns even less than Nathaniel Clyne, who has not made a single appearance this season.
#4. Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez has become one of the most talked-about subjects this season after his glitzy performances in the Serie A. The 22-year-old has 12 goal contributions in the Italian top-flight and has constantly been linked with big-money moves to Barcelona and Manchester City as potential replacements for Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero respectively in the near future.
The Argentinian has developed an excellent relationship up-top with former Manchester United forward Romelu Lukaku with the duo being labelled as one of the best strike-partnerships in Europe. Martinez is more than just an exciting talent: he is versatile in attack, intelligent on the ball and a natural goalscorer. There is absolutely no doubt that he would go for big bucks in the summer if he is for sale.
However, at the time of writing, he earns just more than £50,000-per-week at the San Siro. Reports have suggested that the Inter hierarchy are planning to put forth a contract which could potentially double his salary, however, the front-man is yet to give a green light to the offer. Barcelona, who are constantly keeping tabs on him, are reportedly offering him an annual salary of no less than €7 million a season which could triple his current earnings.
Remarkably, Martinez is paid less than Inter’s quartet of Matteo Politano, Lucien Agoume, Stefano Sensi and Danilo D’Ambrosio, all of whom do not even come close to the striker in terms of the influence he has on Antonio Conte’s team.
#3. Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
Borussia Dortmund’s red-hot winger Jadon Sancho is earning his reputation as one of the best young players in the world, such is his talent and ability. Sancho was a youth product at Manchester City who could not make it to the first team and was sold prematurely to the German giants.
At just 19 years of age, Sancho is already a principle member in Lucien Favre’s team who are vying to knock-off rivals Bayern Munich from their Bundesliga pedestal. The Englishman’s heroics week-in week-out has made him hot property among some of Europe’s top clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.
Sancho has an incredible tally of 13 goals and 13 assists in just 20 Bundesliga appearances this season. He has been a constant threat to opposition defences, often found dribbling and tricking his way past players. The teenager’s dazzling performances and attacking exploits have shot up his price-tag to an amount exceeding €120 million.
However, Sancho is on a weekly salary of just £38,000 at the Signal Iduna Park which does not correspond with his on-field showings. He is not even in the top 15 most-paid players at Dortmund, trailing behind the likes of Manuel Akanji, Roman Burki and Marcel Schmelzer. Sancho still has two years left on his contract but it is unlikely he will stay because of the highly lucrative offers pouring in from everywhere.
#2. Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
Manchester City suffered a huge blow in only the first month of their season when Leroy Sane and Aymeric Laporte, two stand-out performers of last season, were sidelined for the majority of the campaign with long-term knee ligament injuries. Whilst Pep Guardiola’s defence has unsurprisingly been leaky and inconsistent without the Frenchman, their attack has also suffered without their mercurial German winger.
Sane was bought by Guardiola in his first season in charge at the Etihad, who has transformed him into one of the best wingers in the world. At just 22, the left-sided attacker is a regular starter in a star-studded Manchester City team and also in Joachim Low’s German national team.
In Guardiola’s first Premier League-winning campaign, Leroy Sane scored 10 goals and gave 15 assists and was deservedly given the Young Player of the Year award. He followed that up in the next season with another 10 goals and 10 assists in the league to his name. The former Schalke man also played a key role in City’s cup successes and as a result, attracted heavy interest from some of Europe’s elite clubs like Bayern Munich.
However, with all his world-class talent, individual achievements and coveted trophies, Leroy Sane is still one of the most underpaid players in Europe. To put this into perspective, the winger earns £90,000-per-week, which is less than City defenders Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones. Sane’s partner-in-crime Raheem Sterling is second on the payroll list with a whopping salary of £300,000-per-week, more than three times of what he earns.
Part of the reason why the German international is keen for a move to Bayern is that he is often under-appreciated at City in comparison to his illustrious counterparts. In Munich, however, he could not only become a poster boy at the biggest club of the land but also see a significant rise in weekly wages. Sane has turned down a contract renewal at Manchester City several times over the last year or so which only indicates his desire to return to his home country.
#1. Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Only some will argue against the fact that Sadio Mane has been Liverpool’s most consistent performer this season. The Reds are on the verge of tasting their first Premier League success in thirty years and are very much alive in the Champions League as well as in the FA Cup. Jurgen Klopp has had many stand-out performers this term including last year’s Ballon d’Or runner-up Virgil van Dijk, the ever-reliable Roberto Firmino and the high-flying Mohamed Salah.
However, Senegalese international Mane, who is an equally vital part of Klopp’s set-up, earns way less than his teammates. Salah leads Liverpool’s wage-bill with a salary of £200,000-per-week, followed by Roberto Firmino and van Dijk on £180,000-per-week. Mane, however, is shockingly 10th on the list, earning just around £100,000-per-week, even behind the likes of Adam Lallana and Naby Keita, who have a combined tally of two goals this season in the Premier League. Moreover, the fact that he earns half of what his Egyptian counterpart earns, despite being more influential, just highlights how underpaid he is at the club.
The 27-year-old has scored 12 goals and provided another 6 assists in the Premier League, and is one of the top contenders to bag the prestigious Player of the Year award come the end of the season. Mane suffered a muscle tear last month which forced him out of action for a few weeks but the winger marked his return to full fitness with a brilliant winner against a defiant Norwich side last weekend. Even Lionel Messi recognised Sadio Mane’s incredible talent when the Barcelona superstar revealed that he voted for him to become the 2019 FIFA Best Player Award.
