Erling Haaland is the best-paid player in the Premier League, and the gap is the story. The Manchester City striker averages about £510,000 a week across the providers we checked, which is 46 per cent more than Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk in second. Behind them come Man City's Enzo Fernández, Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Man United's Bruno Fernandes, bunched between £300,000 and £310,000. These are estimates rather than official figures, so we have averaged what five different pay trackers claim to give one clear ranking of the five best-paid players in English football. Here is the list, how we reached it, and how each player is doing on our Premier League player pages.
The top 5 at a glance
| # | Player | Club | Average weekly pay | Range across providers | Yearly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erling Haaland | Man City | £510,000 | £450,000 to £525,000 | £26.5m |
| 2 | Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool | £350,000 | £350,000 | £18.2m |
| 3 | Enzo Fernández | Man City | £308,000 | £180,000 to £350,000 | £16.0m |
| 4 | Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | £300,000 | £300,000 | £15.6m |
| 5 | Bruno Fernandes | Man United | £300,000 | £300,000 | £15.6m |
How we worked this out
Clubs do not publish what they pay, so every number here is an estimate of gross fixed weekly pay: before bonuses, tax and image rights. We took the 2026-27 figures from Football Whispers (built on Capology data), SalaryLeaks, Salary Sport, Football365 and Planet Football, averaged each player's figures from the providers that list him, and ranked on that average. The range column shows the lowest and highest figure any provider gave. A player needed to appear on at least three providers' tables to be ranked. Yearly figures are the average multiplied by 52.
Fernandes and Saka average exactly the same, because every provider has them on £300,000. Saka takes fourth place because his new contract runs several years longer, which means more money committed to him.
1. Erling Haaland, Manchester City
The Norwegian is in a pay band of his own. Four of the five providers put him on £525,000 a week and Salary Sport has £450,000, which averages out at £510,000, or £26.5 million a year. He signed a new City contract in January 2025, and the numbers say why the club were happy to pay. His player page shows nine league goals from eight starts this season, the most of anyone in the Premier League, three clear of Liverpool's Alexander Isak.
2. Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool
Van Dijk is the only player on this list where every provider agrees: £350,000 a week, about £18.2 million a year. He is the only defender in the top five and the best-paid player at Liverpool. The captain joined from Southampton in January 2018 and signed a two-year extension in April 2025, which takes him to 2027. At 35 he has started eight league games and played 720 minutes this season, and his player page shows four clean sheets in those games, which is the number a centre-back is really paid for.
3. Enzo Fernández, Manchester City
The providers are split on Enzo Fernández more than on anyone else in the top five. Football365, Planet Football and SalaryLeaks all have him on £350,000 a week, but Salary Sport has £180,000, so the average is £308,000, about £16.0 million a year. The Argentina midfielder has played 458 league minutes across six starts for Man City this season, and his page shows one goal. It is a lot of money for a role that rarely makes the headlines.
4. Bukayo Saka, Arsenal
Saka signed a new contract with Arsenal in February 2026 and is the club's highest earner, on £300,000 a week on every provider we checked, or £15.6 million a year. That puts him level on pay with Bruno Fernandes, and he ranks ahead on contract length. His player page shows three league goals from seven starts and 599 minutes this season.
5. Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United
The Man United captain has been the picture of consistency since arriving from Sporting in January 2020, and every provider has him on £300,000 a week, which comes to £15.6 million a year. His contract runs to 2027. This season his page shows three league goals and an assist from 630 minutes, and he has started seven of United's league games.
What the top 5 tells us
Three things stand out. First, the gap: Haaland earns 46 per cent more than second place, the widest lead at the top of any of Europe's big five leagues on our lists. Second, the next four are bunched within £50,000 a week of each other, so the Premier League's pay scale is really one outlier and a crowd. Third, the most famous name missing is Mohamed Salah, who sat at or near the top of this list for years before moving to Trabzonspor in Turkey this summer.
Just outside the top five, Marcus Rashford averages £292,000 a week (providers range from £235,000 to £325,000) after a season on loan at Barcelona, and Marc Guéhi is on £300,000 on the two providers that list him, too few to rank him. If you follow the game as much for the numbers as the goals, our Premier League fixtures page has every game with the latest odds, and the stats pages show who is delivering for their money.
Who is the highest-paid Premier League player?
Erling Haaland of Manchester City, on an average estimate of £510,000 a week or £26.5 million a year, ahead of Virgil van Dijk on £350,000.
How much is £510,000 a week over a year?
Multiply by 52 and you get about £26.5 million before tax, before bonuses and before any image-rights income, so his total earnings will be higher.
More highest-paid lists
See who tops the pay table in the other leagues: Highest-paid La Liga players, Highest-paid Serie A players, Highest-paid Bundesliga players, Highest-paid Ligue 1 players, Highest-paid Saudi Pro League players, Highest-paid MLS players. For all five of Europe's biggest leagues in one list, read our top 10 highest-paid footballers in Europe.
Photo credits
Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons and have been cropped and resized by TotalOdds. Erling Haaland: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0, source; Virgil van Dijk: Timmy96, CC0, source; Enzo Fernández: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source; Bukayo Saka: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source; Bruno Fernandes: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source.
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