Which Premier League club has the highest wage bill?

Premier League football has never been short of eye-watering salaries, and the gap between the division's biggest spenders and its newly promoted clubs remains enormous heading into the 2026-27 campaign.

With huge broadcast revenues, commercial agreements and matchday income underpinning the division's finances, Premier League clubs continue to operate with wage bills that dwarf those of most teams elsewhere in European football.

Using the latest estimated figures from Capology, Football Whispers takes a look at the Premier League's wage bill table for 2026-27, with the figures representing gross fixed salaries and excluding performance-related bonuses.

Which Premier League club has the highest wage bill? 

Manchester City have the Premier League's highest wage bill. The Cityzens currently lead the way with an estimated weekly wage bill of £4,394,500, equivalent to approximately £228.5m over a full year before bonuses.

That puts Enzo Maresca's side comfortably clear at the top of the table, with Arsenal currently second on £3.7m per week.

City's enormous wage bill is unsurprising given the depth of talent available to Maresca, with Erling Haaland alone accounting for an estimated £525,000 per week.

Haaland's salary follows the nine-and-a-half-year contract he signed in January 2025, which keeps him at the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2034. Capology currently lists his estimated gross fixed salary at £27.3m per year, or £525,000 per week.

The Norwegian's contract also reportedly includes significant potential bonuses, meaning his total remuneration could be considerably higher depending on performance.

Arsenal close the gap at the top

Arsenal sit second with an estimated £3,675,000 weekly wage bill, equivalent to £191.1m per year in fixed salaries.

The Gunners have gradually built one of the most expensive squads in Europe under Mikel Arteta, with a number of key players now commanding salaries befitting a side competing for the Premier League and Champions League.

The gap between Arsenal and City remains significant, however, with the champions currently spending approximately £719,500 more every week on fixed player salaries, which equates to more than £37m across a full year.

Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United complete the top five

Liverpool are currently third on £3.47m per week, followed by Manchester United £2.98m, while Chelsea are on £2.85m.

That means all of the traditional Premier League ‘big six' occupy the top six positions, with Tottenham Hotspur sixth on an estimated £2.63m per week.

Capology's current figures put the six clubs at a combined estimated fixed wage bill of roughly £1.04bn per year before bonuses.

That illustrates just how heavily concentrated Premier League wage spending remains among the established elite.

Rank	Club	Weekly Wage Bill
1	Manchester City	£4,487,000
2	Arsenal	£3,675,000
3	Liverpool	£3,470,000
4	Manchester United	£2,981,500
5	Chelsea	£2,845,500
6	Tottenham Hotspur	£2,634,000

All figures are estimated weekly gross fixed salaries, sourced from Capology via FBref. Correct as of August 2026 and subject to change as the transfer window progresses.

How big is the gap to the promoted clubs?

The contrast becomes even more striking further down the table.

Premier League newcomers Coventry City, Hull City and Ipswich Town operate with substantially smaller wage bills than the established giants.

That disparity is one of the defining financial challenges facing promoted clubs. The Premier League's television and commercial revenues provide an enormous boost compared with the Championship, but newly promoted sides still have to compete against clubs that have spent years building expensive squads.

For Coventry, for example, the challenge is not simply to survive against teams with greater transfer budgets. They are also competing against clubs whose established players can earn several times the salaries available to players at a newly promoted side.

The difference at the top is particularly stark, as Manchester City's estimated weekly fixed wage bill alone is greater than the annual salaries of some Premier League clubs.

Rank	Club	Weekly Wage Bill
1	Manchester City	£4,487,000
2	Arsenal	£3,675,000
3	Liverpool	£3,470,000
4	Manchester United	£2,981,500
5	Chelsea	£2,845,500
6	Tottenham Hotspur	£2,634,000
7	Aston Villa	£2,150,000
8	Newcastle United	£1,698,500
9	Nottingham Forest	£1,570,500
10	Brighton & Hove Albion	£1,340,500
11	Crystal Palace	£1,251,500
12	Sunderland	£1,167,000
13	Fulham	£1,160,000
14	Bournemouth	£1,150,500
15	Everton	£1,134,200
16	Leeds United	£1,113,500
17	Brentford	£983,000
18	Ipswich Town	£575,000
19	Hull City	£354,450
20	Coventry City	£303,000

All figures are estimated weekly gross fixed salaries, sourced from Capology via FBref. Correct as of August 2026 and subject to change as the transfer window progresses.

Why wage bills do not tell the whole story

It is important not to treat these figures as official club accounts. Capology's figures are estimates rather than figures published by the clubs themselves. 

The website states that its salary data represents estimated gross fixed salaries, while bonuses and other forms of remuneration are calculated separately. Some player figures are based on public reporting, while others are estimated using Capology's methodology.

That distinction matters because football contracts can contain performance bonuses, appearance payments, loyalty bonuses, image-rights arrangements and other incentives that are not necessarily publicly disclosed.

A club's wage bill can also change rapidly during the season as players arrive, leave, sign new contracts or return from loan spells.

The figures should therefore be viewed as a snapshot of estimated fixed salaries, rather than a definitive statement of what each club will ultimately spend on wages during the 2026-27 season.

Haaland remains the Premier League's highest-paid player

At individual level, Haaland remains the standout earner. Capology estimates the Manchester City striker's gross fixed salary at £525,000 per week, or £27.3m per year, making him the highest-paid player in City's current wage structure.

His January 2025 contract extension was one of the most significant wage agreements in Premier League history. The deal runs until 2034 and represents a huge long-term commitment from City to their record-breaking striker.

It is also worth distinguishing between Haaland's fixed salary and his potential total earnings. Capology currently estimates his possible annual bonuses at £18.2m, meaning his theoretical gross total could rise substantially above his £27.3m basic figure.

*Figures are estimated gross fixed salaries from Capology and do not include bonuses. They are subject to change throughout the transfer window and season.

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