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The Premier League is the most competitive and widely watched league globally. Apart from gaining worldwide popularity, the Premier League also garners the highest revenue of any football league in the world.
This allows teams to offer lucrative contracts to sign and keep players at the club. There has been a meteoric rise in the prices of players from all over the world. With changes in ownership, competition between clubs and options for a player, this is probably going to get even higher.
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Premier League clubs often wage war in the transfer market
Following Lionel Messi’s arrival at PSG, the French club topped the charts for the highest wage bill in football. Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona are next on the list. Manchester United (£228 million) have the highest wage bill in the Premier League at the moment. Both Chelsea and Manchester City have a wage bill in the region of £150 million.
Given that these clubs spend so much on player wages, it is imperative that some players are overpaid. Certain footballers show a lot of promise before signing contracts. However, they fail to make an impact and eventually get replaced by better players. On that note, let's take a look at five overpaid players in the Premier League right now.
Note: All player wages are taken from Sportac.
#5 Jadon Sancho (£350k/week)
Manchester United spent well over a year chasing Jadon Sancho’s signature, before finally signing him this summer.
However, since joining, he has failed to impress. He opened his Premier League goal account against Chelsea last week. But the winger hasn’t pleased the Old Trafford faithful so far. It is a bit harsh to judge his performances over such a short period of time. However, his weekly wage is still quite high compared to his peers.
Sancho earns £350k per week, which accrues to £18,200,000 per year. It makes him the fourth highest-paid player in the Premier League.
Despite being a star for Borussia Dortmund, Sancho didn’t play a major role in England’s Euro campaign either.
His England teammates Bukayo Saka and Mason Mount flourished over the summer. The duo earn nowhere close to the Manchester United winger. Saka makes less than 10% of what Sancho bags at Old Trafford. Mount will have to quadruple his salary to reach within touching distance of Sancho’s wage.
Sancho has scored just two goals in all competitions. He hasn't created many chances either.
However, given his talent, Sancho can easily become one of the best players in the Premier League in the future. As of now, his contract looks generous.
#4 Timo Werner (£272k/week)
Timo Werner’s lapses in front of goal last season were well documented. The German international was bought from RB Leipzig in 2020 for £47.5 million. He was expected to be a prolific goal scorer for Chelsea like he was in the Bundesliga.
However, he has been anything but that during his 15 months at Stamford Bridge. He went several matches without finding the back of the net last season.
Werner pockets over £14 million annually, ranking him just outside the top 10 earners. The only Chelsea players paid more are Romelu Lukaku and N’Golo Kante, who are arguably better players than him. The defensive trio of Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva and Reece James combined (£263k/week) don’t receive as much as Timo Werner does.
Timo Werner has been a side character in the Premier League this season. He has scored just three goals in all competitions for Chelsea. With Romelu Lukaku returning to full fitness, his playing time will only decrease in the coming days.
#3 Anthony Martial (£250k/week)
After a seemingly bright start to his Premier League career, Anthony Martial is out of favor at Old Trafford. With the arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani and the emergence of Mason Greenwood, the Frenchman has fallen down the pecking order.
Martial earns a quarter of a million pounds per week. This sum is more than what the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane make at their respective clubs. His teammate Bruno Fernandes earns a substantial amount less than £250k per week.
The 2015 Golden Boy winner has scored just one solitary goal in the Premier League this season. The 26-year-old does not have much time at hand to lay down the marker at Old Trafford.
2019-20 was his best season in a United shirt, when he scored 17 goals. Unless he produces similar numbers, his days at Old Trafford will be numbered.
#2 Kepa Arrizabalaga (£155k/week)
Kepa Arrizabalaga has endured an eventful time at Chelsea. The London-based Premier League club had to break the bank to sign Kepa at a goalkeeper record fee (£72 million). After a run of poor performances, he lost his place as the man between the sticks to Edouard Mendy and rarely plays first-team football.
The Spanish shot-stopper earns a reported £155k per week, which is around £8 million per annum. It is shocking to note that he receives more than his Chelsea teammates Cesar Azpilicueta and Jorginho. In fact, he is the sixth-highest earner in the six-time Premier League champions' team.
Kepa will be called upon by Thomas Tuchel when Edouard Mendy goes for the AFCON in January.
Edouard Mendy’s world-class displays have limited Kepa’s chances this season. However, Mendy earns just one-third of what Kepa does. Surprisingly, Kepa pockets more than established Premier League keepers of the ilk of Alisson Becker and Hugo Lloris.
#1 Tanguy Ndombele (£200k/week)
Tanguy Ndombele breaks the Chelsea-Manchester United duopoly off the list by featuring in the top spot. Spurs fans had high hopes from the Frenchman when he arrived in 2019 for a fee of £55 million from Lyon. Although he has played over 50 Premier League games, he has flattered to deceive.
Ndombele is the joint-highest earner (with Harry Kane) at the North London club, taking home £200k a week. The central midfielder earns a decent amount of money more than Heung-Min Son. He receives double the salary captain Hugo Lloris does.
Ndombele trumps fellow Premier League midfielders Bruno Fernandes, Fabinho and Bernardo Silva as far as wages are concerned.
Since Antonio Conte's appointment last month, the 24-year-old has been warming the bench more often than not. The Italian tactician clearly prefers Hojbjerg, Harry Winks, and Oliver Skipp. For a team that has a tight wage structure, £10.4 million per annum for a player who doesn’t feature regularly is over the top.
