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THE immense wealth of Premier League clubs translates into some of the most substantial paychecks for English League players, with top earners like Kevin de Bruyne taking home over £20.8 million annually. But does their performance justify these colossal salaries, or are the clubs getting no bang for their buck?
Intrigued, the football experts at Ticketgum examined the wage data of every Premier League player and compared it with their performances in the the Premier League 23/24 season to determine which players are the most overpaid.
Top 10 most overpaid Premier League forwards
| Rank | Player | Premier League team | Annual wage (£) | Total no. of goals & assists per 90 mins per £1m | Total no. of progressive passes received per 90 mins per £1m | Final value for money score (/10) |
| 1 | Danny Ings | West Ham | 6,500,000 | 0.00 | 0.72 | 2.19 |
| 2 | Divock Origi | Nott’ham Forest | 6,240,000 | 0.00 | 0.75 | 2.38 |
| 3 | Fábio Silva | Wolves | 4,160,000 | 0.00 | 1.08 | 3.10 |
| 4 | Antony | Manchester Utd | 10,400,000 | 0.00 | 1.09 | 3.16 |
| 5= | Marcus Rashford | Manchester Utd | 15,600,000 | 0.01 | 0.58 | 3.55 |
| 5= | Anthony Martial | Manchester Utd | 13,000,000 | 0.02 | 0.55 | 3.55 |
| 5= | Lucas Paquetá | West Ham | 7,800,000 | 0.02 | 0.50 | 3.55 |
| 8 | Rasmus Højlund | Manchester Utd | 4,420,000 | 0.00 | 1.34 | 3.79 |
| 9 | Gabriel Jesus | Arsenal | 13,780,000 | 0.03 | 0.58 | 3.84 |
| 10 | Raheem Sterling | Chelsea | 16,900,000 | 0.03 | 0.69 | 3.91 |
Performance stats are based on the Premier League 23/24 season up to 13th December 2023. For the complete data, please click here.
*The final value-for-money score is calculated based on each player’s salary, time played, and contributions in their respective positions.
Scoring a disappointing 2.19/10 value for money score, Danny Ings from West Ham is the most overpaid forward in the Premier League. Following closely are Divock Origi (Nottingham Forest) and Fábio Silva (Wolves) in second and third, given their mere average game time of 2.30 minutes per 90 minutes.
Notorious for overpaying, The Red Devils see four of their underperforming players feature on the list, including Antony (3.16/10), Anthony Martial (3.55/10), Marcus Rashford (3.55/10) and Rasmus Højlund (3.79/10). Mocked for ‘scoring one goal every 14 years’, Martial has consistently been labelled as the team’s biggest flop, while United’s homegrown superstar, Marcus Rashford, faced comparisons with Martial due to his lackluster performance all season.
Despite being the third highest paid forward, Raheem Sterling completes the list of the ten worst value for money forwards, scoring a dismal 3.91/10.
Top 10 most overpaid Premier League midfielders
| Rank | Player | Premier League team | Annual Wage (£) | Progressive passes per 90 mins per £1m | Goals plus assists per 90 mins per £1m | Final value for money score (/10) |
| 1 | Leander Dendoncker | Aston Villa | 4,680,000 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.89 |
| 2 | John Stones | Manchester City | 13,000,000 | 0.17 | 0.00 | 1.28 |
| 3 | Mason Mount | Manchester Utd | 13,000,000 | 0.26 | 0.00 | 1.43 |
| 4 | Chris Richards | Crystal Palace | 2,860,000 | 0.41 | 0.00 | 1.70 |
| 5 | Moisés Caicedo | Chelsea | 7,800,000 | 0.59 | 0.00 | 2.41 |
| 6 | Boubacar Kamara | Aston Villa | 7,800,000 | 0.62 | 0.00 | 2.88 |
| 7 | Matt Doherty | Wolves | 2,600,000 | 0.64 | 0.00 | 2.96 |
| 8 | Mateo Kovačić | Manchester City | 7,800,000 | 0.77 | 0.00 | 3.41 |
| 9 | Ryan Gravenberch | Liverpool | 7,800,000 | 0.85 | 0.00 | 3.71 |
| 10 | Amadou Onana | Everton | 5,200,000 | 0.93 | 0.00 | 4.03 |
Leander Dendoncker from Aston Villa is Premier League’s most overpaid midfielder, offering the worst value for money with a poor score of 0.89/10 – lowest of all players analysed. Having only played for 24 seconds per 90 minutes, the Belgian player has not registered any progressive passes or provided assists this season.
Failing to live up to their hefty price tags of £13,000,000 are Manchester City’s John Stones (1.28/10) and Manchester United’s Mason Mount (1.43/10) who has struggled to find form since leaving Chelsea for the Reds.
Despite a record-breaking £115 million transfer to Stamford Bridge last year, Moisés Caicedo (2.41/10) rounds off the top five most overpaid midfielders, having scored zero goals this season.
Top 10 most overpaid Premier League goalkeepers
| Rank | Player | Premier League team | Annual Wage (£) | Total no. of saves per 90 mins per £1m | Total no. of clean sheets per £1m | Final value for money score (/10) |
| 1 | Aaron Ramsdale | Arsenal | 6,240,000 | 0.19 | 0.32 | 3.54 |
| 2 | Alphonse Areola | West Ham | 6,240,000 | 0.55 | 0.16 | 4.79 |
| 3 | Alisson | Liverpool | 7,800,000 | 0.41 | 0.51 | 5.20 |
| 4 | Jordan Pickford | Everton | 6,500,000 | 0.37 | 0.77 | 5.21 |
| 5 | Ederson | Manchester City | 5,200,000 | 0.37 | 0.77 | 5.40 |
| 6 | Emiliano Martínez | Aston Villa | 6,240,000 | 0.49 | 0.64 | 5.59 |
| 7= | Bart Verbruggen | Brighton | 1,820,000 | 1.33 | 0.00 | 5.77 |
| 7= | David Raya | Arsenal | 4,420,000 | 0.35 | 0.90 | 5.77 |
| 7= | Odisseas Vlachodimos | Nott’ham Forest | 2,340,000 | 0.85 | 0.43 | 5.77 |
A.
-February 1, 2024 @ 09:55 GMT|
Tags: Kyle Walker Marcus Rashford OVERPAID players Premier League
