Every Premier League club’s wage bill vs. 2025-26 league position after 19 games

Planet Football • 03 Jan 2026

Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have all underachieved in the Premier League this season when you compare their performance on the pitch so far to their outlay on wages.

At the other end of the scale, Brentford, Crystal Palace and Sunderland are doing the best relative to their spending on player wages.

There are notable exceptions, but looking at the table of Premier League wages is usually a decent benchmark for where each club ‘should’ be finishing in the league when all is said and done.

For example, it’s no great surprise that Burnley are in the relegation, given how little they spend on wages compared to some of the English top-flight’s more established clubs.

Scott Parker’s squad take home only a fraction of what the likes of the two Manchester clubs and Arsenal spend on player wages.

But Brentford, who still have the lowest wage bill, have demonstrated that it is possible to get a lot from limited resources as they sit in mid-table.

Sunderland and Crystal Palace are also performing well above where they logically should, while Aston Villa and Everton are clearly being managed astutely.

Table toppers Arsenal can be considered the best of the ‘big six’, given they spend less on wages than their direct competitors.

At the other end of the scale, it’s no wonder there’s so much noise around Chelsea and Manchester United, considering they both spend big bucks and sit outside the Champions League places.

Nottingham Forest, Tottenham and Newcastle are all significantly underperforming, as are bottom three occupiers Wolves and West Ham.

We’ve listed every Premier League single club by their league position in comparison to their wage bill, ranking them in order of the biggest overperformers down to the biggest underperformers.

Note: All wage bill data is via Capology.

1. Brentford

League Position: 9th
Wage bill: 20th
Total wage bill: £54,301,000
Difference: +11

2. Sunderland

League Position: 7th
Wage bill: 14th
Total wage bill: £68,016,000
Difference: +7

3. Crystal Palace

League Position: 10th
Wage bill: 15th
Total wage bill: £67,828,800
Difference: +5

4. Aston Villa

League Position: 3rd
Wage bill: 7th
Total wage bill: £130,317,200
Difference: +4

5. Everton

League Position: 8th
Wage bill: 12th
Total wage bill: £75,379,200
Difference: +4

6. Brighton

League Position: 14th
Wage bill: 17th
Total wage bill: £60,645,000
Difference: +3

7. Leeds

League Position: 16th
Wage bill: 18th
Total wage bill: £59,306,000
Difference: +2

8. Arsenal

League Position: 1st
Wage bill: 2nd
Total wage bill: £189,322,000
Difference: +1

9. Bournemouth

League Position: 15th
Wage bill: 16th
Total wage bill: £62,764,000
Difference: +1

10. Fulham

League Position: 11th
Wage bill: 11th
Total wage bill: £77,519,000
Difference: 0

11. Burnley

League Position: 19th
Wage bill: 19th
Total wage bill: £55,970,000
Difference: 0

12. Manchester City

League Position: 2nd
Wage bill: 1st
Total wage bill: £222,315,600
Difference: -1

13. Liverpool

League Position: 4th
Wage bill: 3rd
Total wage bill: £174,220,800
Difference: -1

14. Chelsea

League Position: 5th
Wage bill: 4th
Total wage bill: £164,788,000
Difference: -1

15. Manchester United

League Position: 6th
Wage bill: 5th
Total wage bill: £159,341,000
Difference: -1

16. Newcastle

League Position: 13th
Wage bill: 8th
Total wage bill: £116,584,000
Difference: -5

17. Tottenham

League Position: 12th
Wage bill: 6th
Total wage bill: £132,912,000
Difference: -6

18. Wolves

League Position: 20th
Wage bill: 13th
Total wage bill: £72,358,000
Difference: -7

19. Nottingham Forest

League Position: 17th
Wage bill: 9th
Total wage bill: £93,457,000
Difference: -8

20. West Ham

League Position: 18th
Wage bill: 10th
Total wage bill: £86,413,200
Difference: -8

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the 25 highest-paid players in the Premier League?