Topics: Premier League, Roy Keane, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea
The highest-paid player in every Premier League season has been revealed and shows just how wages have changed over the years.
The English top flight has regularly led the way when it comes to player salaries and an influx of money arrived when the first division became the Premier League in 1992.
The average yearly salary in the United Kingdom is around £35,000 a year in 2013 but a study in 2019 from Global Sports uncovered that the average Premier League player takes home over £3 million per annum.
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Back in 1992 the average yearly earning for a Premier League player was £77,000 but according to data from the likes of The Mirror, John Barnes of Liverpool made £10,000 per week and £520,000 per year in his pomp.
Legends like Eric Cantona and Dennis Bergkamp soon became the best-paid in the league with £18,000-a-week and £25,000-a-week in the years which followed, before Fabrizio Ravanelli collected £42,000-a-week in just a single season at Middlesbrough.
Manchester United's legendary former captain Roy Keane broke the wage structure with two massive contacts in the late 90's and early 2000's before Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard became the first Premier League player to bag a £100,000-a-week deal to fend off interest from Chelsea.
Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney collected £250,000 and £300,000 per week respectively in their biggest deals, while Cristiano Ronaldo negotiated a mammoth £480,000 contract upon his return to United.
At present, Manchester City captain Kevin De Bruyne is believed to be the league's top earner on £400,000-a-week.
Here is the list in full:
1992/93: John Barnes - £10,000-a-week
1993/94: John Barnes - £10,000-a-week
1994/95: Eric Cantona - £18,000-a-week
1995/96: Dennis Bergkamp - £25,000-a-week
1996/97: Fabrizio Ravanelli - £42,000-a-week
1997/98: Alan Shearer - £34,000-a-week
1998/99: Alan Shearer - £34,000-a-week
1999/00: Roy Keane - £52,000-a-week
2000/01: Roy Keane - £52,000-a-week
2001/02: Roy Keane - £90,000-a-week
2002/03: Roy Keane - £94,000-a-week
2003/04: Hernan Crespo - £94,000-a-week
2004/05: Frank Lampard - £98,000-a-week
2005/06: Steven Gerrard - £100,000-a-week
2006/07: Andriy Shevchenko - £118,000-a-week
2007/08: John Terry - £135,000-a-week
2008/09: Robinho - £160,000-a-week
2009/10: Carlos Tevez - £250,000-a-week
2010/11: Carlos Tevez - £250,000-a-week
2011/12: Carlos Tevez - £250,000-a-week
2012/13: Carlos Tevez - £250,000-a-week
2013/14: Wayne Rooney - £300,000-a-week
2014/15: Wayne Rooney - £300,000-a-week
2015/16: Wayne Rooney - £300,000-a-week
2016/17: Wayne Rooney - £300,000-a-week
2017/18: Alexis Sanchez - £350,000-a-week
2018/19: Alexis Sanchez - £350,000-a-week
2019/20: David de Gea - £375,000-a-week
2020/21: Gareth Bale - £560,000-a-week (majority paid by Real Madrid)
2021/22: Cristiano Ronaldo - £480,000-a-week
2022/23: Kevin De Bruyne - £400,000-a-week
2023/24: Kevin De Bruyne - £400,000-a-week
