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The Premier League’s wage bill continues to reach extraordinary levels. For the 2026/27 season, a hypothetical starting XI made up of the league’s highest-paid players would earn a staggering £3.37 million every week.
What makes the figures even more remarkable is that several of the league’s biggest stars—including Phil Foden, Kai Havertz, Alexander Isak and Omar Marmoush—would not even make the XI despite earning between £280,000 and £295,000 per week.
The Highest-Paid Premier League XI
According to a PlanetFootball ranking published on August 10, 2026, the most expensive team, arranged in a 4-3-3 formation, would look like this:
- GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma – Manchester City – £265,000/week
- RB: Dominik Szoboszlai – Liverpool – £250,000
- CB: William Saliba – Arsenal – £250,000
- CB: Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool – £350,000
- LB: Josko Gvardiol – Manchester City – £250,000
- CM: Ryan Gravenberch – Liverpool – £280,000
- CM: Bruno Fernandes – Manchester United – £300,000
- AM: Jack Grealish – Manchester City – £300,000
- RW: Bukayo Saka – Arsenal – £300,000
- LW: Marcus Rashford – Manchester United – £300,000
- ST: Erling Haaland – Manchester City – £525,000
Combined, the XI would collect approximately £3.37 million every week.
Haaland alone accounts for £525,000 of that total, earning almost twice as much as the highest-paid goalkeeper in the list.
Donnarumma Leads the Goalkeeper Rankings
One of the most striking figures comes in goal.
Gianluigi Donnarumma reportedly earns £265,000 per week, making him the highest-paid goalkeeper in the Premier League.
Manchester City signed the Italian international from Paris Saint-Germain in September 2025 for a reported £26 million. His weekly salary is said to be significantly higher than Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, who reportedly earns around £115,000 less per week.
Grealish’s Salary Keeps Him Among the Elite
Jack Grealish is another fascinating inclusion.
The England international spent time away from Manchester City on loan at Everton, but his existing City contract reportedly pays around £300,000 per week.
That salary is enough to keep him among the Premier League’s highest earners, despite playing for a different club.
His inclusion highlights how existing contracts can continue to influence the league’s wage rankings even after players move temporarily to another team.
Foden, Havertz, Isak and Marmoush Miss Out
Perhaps the biggest surprise is the list of stars who fail to make the XI.
Phil Foden and Kai Havertz are reportedly earning around £280,000 per week, while Alexander Isak is also around the £280,000 mark.
Omar Marmoush, meanwhile, is believed to be earning approximately £295,000 per week.
Yet none of them makes the starting XI.
That underlines just how tightly packed the Premier League’s top salary bracket has become.
A player earning £280,000 to £300,000 per week is no longer guaranteed a place among the league’s 11 highest-paid players when the selection is made position by position.
What the Numbers Tell Us
The figures underline the extraordinary financial power of the Premier League.
At the very top, wages have become so compressed that earning £280,000 per week is no longer enough to guarantee inclusion in a hypothetical highest-paid XI. And then there is Haaland. At £525,000 per week, the Manchester City striker sits comfortably at the top of this particular wage table.
That means one player earns more than half a million pounds every seven days, while the combined weekly wage of this hypothetical superstar XI reaches a staggering £3.37 million.
The Premier League’s financial arms race shows no sign of slowing down.
Danchima Media | Football • Sports • Premier League
Note: Reported football salaries are often based on publicly available estimates and may not reflect bonuses, image rights, performance payments or the exact terms of individual contracts.
