'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Football, the beautiful sport as we know it, has transformed into a full-blown commercial enterprise. At club level football, money has literally flown in ridiculous proportions, making footballers one of the best paid personalities not only in sports but across all professions.
According to Forbes' annual list of World’s 100 highest-paid athletes, the top three highest earning sportsperson in the world are all footballers - With Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar occupying the top three spots, respectively.
The English Premier League has been the biggest beneficiary of all the new money that has made its way into the game and commands the status as the world’s wealthiest football league, with the 20 competing club posting a combined revenue of £2.42 billion for the 2017-18 season, as per Global Sports Salaries Survey 2018.
According to the survey, average annual basic pay in the Premier League (£3 million) is 36 per cent higher than next-best La Liga (£2.2 million) and pretty much double the pay in Italy (£1.5 million) and Germany’s top divisions (£1.4 million).
As absurd as it may sound, there as some players in English top-flight who earn upto more than 10 times the national average annual salary in weekly wages. So, here we take a look at the five footballers who are currently the highest earners in the Premier League.
#5 Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) - £268,750
Mezut Ozil, once a fan favorite at Arsenal, now finds himself out of favour with the Emirates faithful and manager Unai Emery as well.
The 2014 World Cup winner was one of the best playmakers in the world when he joined the Gunners, having been voted the world's second best playmaker, only behind Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta by IFFHS for that year.
Initially, he signed a contract that saw him earning £150,000 a week but consistent performances in all competitions, including the 2014 FA Cup triumph where he helped the club break their nine-year long trophy drought, saw his stock rise. In early 2018 he was offered a new contract that according to which he now earns £268,750 a week.
Though, his technical prowess remains as strong as ever, it is his consistency, effort and the attitude on field in the Arsenal jersey that is being questioned now. He only managed five goals and two assists last season, while this season in three appearances he is yet to contribute towards a goal for his team.
Apart from Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane, he is the only other player from a London based club who feature in a list of top 10 wage earners in EPL. Also he is the highest paid German footballer in the world right now.
#4 Paul Pogba (Manchester United) - £290,000
Paul Pogba is one of the biggest signings for Manchester United in the post-Ferguson era. He was brought back to the Old Trafford in 2016 for a then-world record transfer fee of £89.3 million with much fanfare but his second stint with the club has received mixed reactions.
He won the World Cup with France in 2018 but with the Red Devils has only two honours to his name in EFL Cup in 2017 and the UEFA Europa League in the same campaign under now Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho.
He is also known for his lavish lifestyle, with a wide variety of cars and his love for fashion. Well, if you earn £290,000 a week, it is only natural to spend some of it on the luxuries which it brings it with itself.
While in his five year-long contract with the club he earns £15 million annually, Pogba still isn't the best paid player at Old Trafford. He lost that distinction to one of his teammates this season, who signed a contract extension and also features in our list later on.
#3 Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) - £300,000
Raheem Sterling has been one of the most prolific forwards for the calendar year, with him performing at the top level for both his club Manchester City and England.
That explains why just at the age of 24, he is one of the best paid players in the Premier League. In 2018 he signed a new contract with the reigning champions that took his weekly wage to a whopping £300,000 a week.
He had the a great season last time around, scoring 25 goals across all competitions and provided 18 assists as well. When goals involvement (goals and assists) in 2019 is considered he has a combined total of 55 for club and country, only Lionel Messi has more with 57.
His astronomical growth means he might be on the radar of some of the biggest clubs in the world and at his age he will only get better. Though he clearly seems happy with his current employers, failure at the UEFA Champions League yet again might force him to think of a move to a club that offers a better chance to win the European cup.
#2 Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) - £ 320,883
It is yet another player from the two Manchester-based clubs that takes his place on our list in Sky Blues' midfield magician Kevin De Bruyne.
The Belgian is one of the best passers of the ball in world football at the moment. He is also known for his deadball skills, long shots and the ability to create goalscoring chances at will. Thus, it is no wonder why he City's highest paid player.
After a record-breaking season with Wolfsburg in 2015, where he laid on 21 assists in a single season, Manchester City came calling and spent £55 million on the player who was deemed surplus and let go by fellow Premier League side Chelsea not long ago.
Initially he was on £115,000 a week salary, but his performances and the fear of loosing such a natural talent to other suitors forced City to bump up his weekly wage to £ 320,883 in 2018, more than doubling his earlier salary.
He already has nine assists in 11 appearances and might be on his way to cross the fabled 20-assist barrier that has never been crossed in the English top flight.
#1 David de Gea (Manchester United) - £375,000
Manchester United No.1 David de Gea, surprisingly sits on top of the highest earner list. He was offered a bumper £375,000 a week deal at the beginning of the season in September, which will now see the Spanish goalkeeper at the Old Trafford until 2023.
For the last two seasons the player had been linked heavily with a move away from the club to Real Madrid. This prompted the club to make him the highest earner at the club ahead of Alexis Sanchez, who also commanded a hefty £350,000-per-week salary.
Though, De Gea has been one of the most consistent players for the Red Devils for the better part of this decade, as evident by his four Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year awards (most by any player, Cristiano Ronaldo had won it on three occasions). Last season, he just wasn't at his best. He even lost his ever so secure starting place in Spain's starting XI to Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga this year.
The contracts signed by player are usually long term and the salary is decided on basis of current form and past performances, but as we have seen in case of some the players in the list, the clubs do not always get the value for their money in such deals.
