THE HIGHEST paid player for every Premier League season has been revealed.
Cristiano Ronaldo is narrowly pipped to the title of the league’s biggest earner by former Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale.
Both players made surprise returns to England in back-to-back seasons in 2020/21 and 2021/22.
Ronaldo’s Manchester United comeback in 2021 saw him earn £480,000-per-week until his dramatic exit in November last year.
Although those wages made him the best paid player in the league two seasons ago, it fell short of Bale’s earnings the campaign before.
The Welshman earned a staggering £560,000-per-week during his season-long loan with Tottenham.
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However, a majority of those wages are understood to have been paid by his parent club Real Madrid.
Spurs still got their money’s worth for what they did pay, though, as Bale scored 11 goals in 20 league appearances during his North London return.
With both Bale and Ronaldo no longer in the Premier League, Kevin De Bruyne has taken over as the highest paid player for both last term and the current campaign.
The Manchester City midfielder is said to be earning £400,000-per-week as part of the four-year deal he signed in 2021.
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His earnings are a whopping 40 times more than those of John Barnes in the first-ever Premier League season.
According to data from the Mirror, Liverpool paid Barnes weekly wages of £10,000 during the 1992/93 season, with the winger earning £520,000-a-year during his prime.
Four years later, Fabrizio Ravanelli took home £42,000-per-week during his sole season at Middlesbrough.
A pair of bumper contracts in the late 1990s and early 2000s saw Roy Keane hold the top earner’s spot for four seasons as his wages went from £52,000 to £94,000.
Steven Gerrard later took the marquee figure to £100,000 in 2005 after signing a new deal at Anfield amid interest from Chelsea.
Carlos Tevez’s move to City in 2010 saw the Argentine striker earn £250,000-per-week to top the list until 2013.
Following Tevez’s move to Juventus, Wayne Rooney replaced him at the top of the list with the biggest contract of his career.
United paid the former England captain £300,000-per-week during his final four years at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils followed that up by paying Alexis Sanchez and David de Gea £350,000 and £375,000, respectively, across the next three seasons before Bale’s Tottenham return.
Highest paid Premier League player each season
1992/93: John Barnes – £10,000-per-week
1993/94: John Barnes – £10,000-per-week
1994/95: Eric Cantona – £18,000-per-week
1995/96: Dennis Bergkamp – £25,000-per-week
1996/97: Fabrizio Ravanelli – £42,000-per-week
1997/98: Alan Shearer – £34,000-per-week
1998/99: Alan Shearer – £34,000-per-week
1999/00: Roy Keane – £52,000-per-week
2000/01: Roy Keane – £52,000-per-week
2001/02: Roy Keane – £90,000-per-week
2002/03: Roy Keane – £94,000-per-week
2003/04: Hernan Crespo – £94,000-per-week
2004/05: Frank Lampard – £98,000-per-week
2005/06: Steven Gerrard – £100,000-per-week
2006/07: Andriy Shevchenko – £118,000-per-week
2007/08: John Terry – £135,000-per-week
2008/09: Robinho – £160,000-per-week
2009/10: Carlos Tevez – £250,000-per-week
2010/11: Carlos Tevez – £250,000-per-week
2011/12: Carlos Tevez – £250,000-per-week
2012/13: Carlos Tevez – £250,000-per-week
2013/14: Wayne Rooney – £300,000-per-week
2014/15: Wayne Rooney – £300,000-per-week
2015/16: Wayne Rooney – £300,000-per-week
2016/17: Wayne Rooney – £300,000-per-week
2017/18: Alexis Sanchez – £350,000-per-week
2018/19: Alexis Sanchez – £350,000-per-week
2019/20: David de Gea – £375,000-per-week
2020/21: Gareth Bale – £560,000-per-week (Majority paid by Real Madrid)
2021/22: Cristiano Ronaldo – £480,000-per-week
2022/23: Kevin De Bruyne – £400,000-per-week
2023/24: Kevin De Bruyne – £400,000-per-week
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
