Writer, analyst, podcaster, Spurs fan. Three out of four is not bad. If there is a data angle, I will find it.
When in football circles, the topic of value for money is one that often comes to the forefront and although there are many different ways to measure value, it can be a rather subjective topic at even the best of times.
For example, a Premier League striker can only really be measured in terms of value, by the goals he scores or an attacking midfielder by the number of assists he creates for his teammates. However, these two calculations are very much on output alone and therefore, they may penalise a defender or goalkeeper.
Because for positions further back down the playing field, it is more about what you stop from happening rather than what you achieve and with some of their actions being unquantifiable due to good positioning, the measure of value can be difficult to obtain.
Thankfully, we have now created a metric that is far more universal and after another deep dive of data, we can establish how much a player has been paid this season for every Premier League minute that they have played.
Whether the salary is eye-watering or a mere pittance in comparison, we can combine wage and playing data to get a better gauge of value and with the numbers now crunched, here is what we can offer in terms of analysis.
Minutes and wage data are correct as of June 1st 2024
THE BIGGEST EARNERS
To get an idea of the data we are working with, we can first look at the 10 highest earners in our data sample.
| Club | Player | Annual Salary | Salary | Season Salary | Min | Earnings Per Minute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City | £20,800,000 | £400,000 | £15,200,000 | 1,221 | £12,449 |
| Erling Haaland | Manchester City | £19,500,000 | £375,000 | £14,250,000 | 2,552 | £5,584 |
| Casemiro | Manchester Utd | £18,200,000 | £350,000 | £13,300,000 | 1,982 | £6,710 |
| Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | £18,200,000 | £350,000 | £13,300,000 | 2,534 | £5,249 |
| Raphaël Varane | Manchester Utd | £17,680,000 | £340,000 | £12,920,000 | 1,375 | £9,396 |
| Raheem Sterling | Chelsea | £16,900,000 | £325,000 | £12,350,000 | 1,978 | £6,244 |
| Jack Grealish | Manchester City | £15,600,000 | £300,000 | £11,400,000 | 1,009 | £11,298 |
| Marcus Rashford | Manchester Utd | £15,600,000 | £300,000 | £11,400,000 | 2,271 | £5,020 |
| Bernardo Silva | Manchester City | £15,600,000 | £300,000 | £11,400,000 | 2,578 | £4,422 |
| Kai Havertz | Arsenal | £14,560,000 | £280,000 | £10,640,000 | 2,634 | £4,039 |
When it comes to earnings across the length of the 2023/24 season, it is Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne who tops the pile.
De Bruyne earns £400k a week and amassed no less than £15.2m across the season as a whole. Although you would have to say that it was worth every penny, as the Belgian played a considerable part in Manchester City’s Premier League winning success.
When looking at this from a per minute perspective, the Manchester City midfielder earned £12,449 in the season past and his teammate and second-highest earning in the Premier League Erling Haaland earned £5,584 by comparison.
The top 10 comprises players from five clubs, the aforementioned City, their Manchester rivals United, Chelsea. Arsenal and Liverpool. The latter have just a single representative when it comes to top earners and the man earning the big bucks at Anfield is none other than Mohamed Salah.
Image: Kevin Walsh from Preston Brook, England/Wikimedia Commons
The Egyptian king earned £13.3m across the 2023/24 Premier League season and with no less than 2,534 minutes under his belt, he would go on to earn £5,249 for each one played.
Top of the earning shop at Old Trafford was Casemiro, as the Brazilian midfielder earned £13.3m last season and the former Real Madrid star was afforded 1,982 minutes across last season and this was worth £6,710 for each one.
As for Chelsea, their largest outlay was towards Raheem Sterling. At £325k a week, this equates to £12.35m across the whole Premier League season and with just 1,978 minutes played – not a lot for such a big earner, it actually cost the Stamford Bridge outfit £6,244 per 60 seconds.
While at Arsenal, their only top 10 representative was Kai Havertz as the German international made the switch from Chelsea. The forward earned £10.64m last season and played 2,634 minutes at a rate of £4,039 per 60 seconds.
THE CHAMPIONS
With Manchester City winning their sixth Premier League title in seven seasons, it seems only fair to place Pep Guardiola's men under a greater spotlight and we can do so by looking at their top 11 earners
| Player | Squad | Annual Salary | Salary | Season Salary | Min | Earnings Per Minute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City | £20,800,000 | £400,000 | £15,200,000 | 1,221 | £12,449 |
| Erling Haaland | Manchester City | £19,500,000 | £375,000 | £14,250,000 | 2,552 | £5,584 |
| Jack Grealish | Manchester City | £15,600,000 | £300,000 | £11,400,000 | 1,009 | £11,298 |
| Bernardo Silva | Manchester City | £15,600,000 | £300,000 | £11,400,000 | 2,578 | £4,422 |
| John Stones | Manchester City | £13,000,000 | £250,000 | £9,500,000 | 1,064 | £8,929 |
| Phil Foden | Manchester City | £11,700,000 | £225,000 | £8,550,000 | 2,857 | £2,993 |
| Rodri | Manchester City | £11,440,000 | £220,000 | £8,360,000 | 2,931 | £2,852 |
| Joško Gvardiol | Manchester City | £10,400,000 | £200,000 | £7,600,000 | 2,328 | £3,265 |
| Manuel Akanji | Manchester City | £9,360,000 | £180,000 | £6,840,000 | 2,511 | £2,724 |
| Rúben Dias | Manchester City | £9,360,000 | £180,000 | £6,840,000 | 2,559 | £2,673 |
| Kyle Walker | Manchester City | £9,100,000 | £175,000 | £6,650,000 | 2,767 | £2,403 |
As we know above, it is Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland who were Manchester City's two biggest earners last season, but the sharing of riches does not stop there.
The attacking pair of Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva were also well compensated for their efforts towards winning another Premier League title - both players earning £11.4m across the duration of last season.
For Grealish, those earnings also saw just 1,009 minutes and this meant each minute was worth a whopping £11,298. By comparison, Bernardo Silva's 2,578 minutes were worth £4,422.
In terms of Manchester City's biggest earnings, it is Kyle Walker who offers the most value per 60 seconds. £6.65m worth of earnings across last season and 2,767 minutes on the field - an equation worth £2,403 per 60 seconds.
THE GATECRASHERS
With Aston Villa gatecrashing the party in terms of Champions League qualfication for the 2024/25 season, we should also see if their big earners were efficient in terms of wages versus minutes.
| Player | Squad | Annual Salary | Salary | Season Salary | Min | Earnings Per Minute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clément Lenglet | Aston Villa | £7,800,000 | £150,000 | £5,700,000 | 1,153 | £4,944 |
| Youri Tielemans | Aston Villa | £7,800,000 | £150,000 | £5,700,000 | 1,622 | £3,514 |
| Boubacar Kamara | Aston Villa | £7,800,000 | £150,000 | £5,700,000 | 1,652 | £3,450 |
| Moussa Diaby | Aston Villa | £6,760,000 | £130,000 | £4,940,000 | 2,174 | £2,272 |
| Ollie Watkins | Aston Villa | £6,760,000 | £130,000 | £4,940,000 | 3,217 | £1,536 |
Of Aston Villa's top five earners, three of them took home the same earnings last season. A figure of £5.7m was awarded to Clement Lenglet, Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara respectively.
Lenglet played the fewest minutes of the trio with 1,153 compared to Tielemans who played 1,622 and Kamara who played 1,652. This meant respective per minute earnings of £4,944, £,3,514 and £3,450.
However, there was better value to be found with Villa's other two top earners. Ollie Watkins earned £4,94m last season and not only did his goals help the West Midlands outfit into the Champions League but his 3,217 minutes earned him £1,536 per 60 seconds. By comparison, Moussa Diaby who has now moved on to the riches of Saudi Arabia also earned £4.94m last season and with 2,174 minutes under his belt, they were worth £2,272 every 60 seconds.
GOOD BECOMES BAD
Of course, wherever there is good value, there must always be bad, and with the same logic as above, we can now highlight those that must be considered as the latter. With that in mind, here are the top five highest pay-per-minute earners (players who have been on the books of their parent club all season)
| Player | Squad | Annual Salary | Salary | Season Salary | Min | Earnings Per Minute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thiago Alcántara | Liverpool | £10,400,000 | £200,000 | £7,600,000 | 6 | £1,266,667 |
| Donny van de Beek | Manchester Utd | £4,680,000 | £90,000 | £3,420,000 | 3 | £1,140,000 |
| James Mcatee | Manchester City | £780,000 | £15,000 | £570,000 | 1 | £570,000 |
| Bertrand Traoré | Aston Villa | £4,050,000 | £77,885 | £2,959,615 | 11 | £269,056 |
| Jonny Castro | Wolves | £1,820,000 | £35,000 | £1,330,000 | 5 | £266,000 |
In the interest of fairness, there will be some caveats when it comes to injuries and therefore, we must apply an element of context when looking at the table sitting just above. Spare a thought for Thiago Alcantara who played just six minutes of Premier League football last season.
The Spanish midfielder would have a season to forget for Liverpool as he suffered injury setback after injury setback - setbacks that would eventually see him retitre at the end of the season. However, he would go on to earn £7,6m last season at a rate of £1.26m per minute
Next in the list is now former Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek and the Dutchman's spell at Old Trafford was certainly one to forget. Then again, he still took a salary of £3,42m last season and at the Theatre of Dreams that would be worth £1.14m every 60 seconds.
Third on the list was Manchester City's James McAtee who earned £570k for his 60 minute Premier League cameo - albeit he did also spend the rest of the campaign at Sheffield United.
Fourth goes to Bertrand Traore who earned £269k for his 11 minutes at Aston Villa - he also went out on loan, this time to Spanish outfit Villarreal.
While rounding out the top five was Wolves Jonny Castro. The Spaniard only played five minutes for the Molineux men last season and these were each worth £266k per 60 seconds. However, there is also the additional caveat of Castro's contract being paid up at the start of last year due to internal disciplinary action.
MINUTE FOR MINUTE
After looking at the highest earners in the Premier League and those players who can be considered as bad value, we can also look at those players who earn the least per minute and with the same logic once again, here are the true bargains.
| Player | Squad | Annual Salary | Salary | Season Salary | Min | Earnings Per Minute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Beyer | Burnley | £156,000 | £3,000 | £114,000 | 1,234 | £92 |
| Alfie Doughty | Luton Town | £390,000 | £7,500 | £285,000 | 2,925 | £97 |
| Carlton Morris | Luton Town | £520,000 | £10,000 | £380,000 | 2,862 | £133 |
| Toti Gomes | Wolves | £520,000 | £10,000 | £380,000 | 2,772 | £137 |
| Maxime Estève | Burnley | £260,000 | £5,000 | £190,000 | 1,309 | £145 |
| Jordan Clark | Luton Town | £260,000 | £5,000 | £190,000 | 1,304 | £146 |
| Teden Mengi | Luton Town | £520,000 | £10,000 | £380,000 | 2,469 | £154 |
| Lewis Miley | Newcastle Utd | £260,000 | £5,000 | £190,000 | 1,202 | £158 |
| Rayan Aït-Nouri | Wolves | £520,000 | £10,000 | £380,000 | 2,329 | £163 |
| Rodrigo Muniz | Fulham | £390,000 | £7,500 | £285,000 | 1,593 | £179 |
It was Jordan Beyer who was the best value for money in terms of per minute earnings. After playing 1,234 minutes for the Clarets last season, his earnings of £114k means each 60 seconds was worth just £92.
Five pounds more than Luton's Alfie Doughty in second. At £97 per minute, his 2,925 minutes also saw him earn a season salary of £285k.
While it was another Luton player who rounds out the top three. Carlton Morris' goals were not enough to keep the Hatters in the top tier but his salary of £380k saw him play 2,862 minutes at a value of £133 each.
Wolves' Toti Gomes would earn the same salary as Carlton Morris but would play 90 minutes less - therefore his per 60 seconds was four pounds more at £137.
Rounding out the top five in the value list was another Burnley talent, Maxime Esteve earned £190k last season and played 1,309 minutes, each worth £145 per 60 seconds.
Of the players in the top 10 list, six were represented by clubs that were promoted and then relegated at the first time of asking (Burnley with three, Luton with three)
OUTSIDE THE BIG SIX
Of course, the Premier League is not just about the big six clubs, but those who look to break the glass ceiling each campaign. When we remove the big six members out of the top earners list, he is what it looks like:
| Player | Squad | Annual Salary | Salary | Season Salary | Min | Earnings Per Minute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ansu Fati | Brighton | £8,320,000 | £160,000 | £6,080,000 | 521 | £11,670 |
| Bruno Guimarães | Newcastle Utd | £8,320,000 | £160,000 | £6,080,000 | 3,263 | £1,863 |
| Clément Lenglet | Aston Villa | £7,800,000 | £150,000 | £5,700,000 | 1,153 | £4,944 |
| Youri Tielemans | Aston Villa | £7,800,000 | £150,000 | £5,700,000 | 1,622 | £3,514 |
| Boubacar Kamara | Aston Villa | £7,800,000 | £150,000 | £5,700,000 | 1,652 | £3,450 |
| Lucas Paquetá | West Ham | £7,800,000 | £150,000 | £5,700,000 | 2,622 | £2,174 |
| Moussa Diaby | Aston Villa | £6,760,000 | £130,000 | £4,940,000 | 2,174 | £2,272 |
The highest non-big six earner was Ansu Fati. The Barcelona loanee earned £6.08m at The Amex last season and with a season curtailed by injuries, the youngster only played 521 minutes. An output that equates to £11,670 per minute.
The same salary that Bruno Guimaraes would earn at Newcastle. The Brazilian midfielder played 3,263 minutes by comparison - each one worth £1,863 for every 60 seconds.
Following these two is the trio of Aston Villa players that were mentioned earlier, while fellow aforementioned Villa star Moussa Diaby sits seventh in our list.
This means Lucas Paqueta's £5.7m salary for last season also comes under the spotlight, as the West Ham star played 2,622 minutes at a value of £2,174.
Methodology
Step 1: We take each of the individual weekly salaries that have been captured from fbref.com
Step 2: We then multiple their weekly salary into what would be their annual earnings (52 weeks of the year)
Step 3: We then divide their annual salary by 38 – the value of weeks in their annual salary at this stage
Step 4: Divide this value by minutes played. This then gives us the pay-per-minute played value
Salary and Player data: https://fbref.com/en/comps/9/Premier-League-Stats
