An insane Premier League XI Neymar now singlehandedly earns more than
Neymar has just penned a ridiculously lucrative contract with Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal which will see him become one of the highest paid players in the world.
According to Sky Sports, the Brazilian will be earning an annual salary of £129.4million while playing in Saudi Arabia. For context, that works out to around an utterly bonkers £2,488,000 per week.
We’ve compiled an unbelievably star-studded Premier League XI that Neymar will now singlehandedly be out-earning while playing for Al Hilal.
Note: all figures have been taken from Capology.
GK: Alisson Becker (£150,000 per week)
The Liverpool goalkeeper has been subject to interest from clubs in Saudi of late and they’re reportedly more than happy to at least quadruple the wage he is currently on at Anfield.
It feels wrong saying someone earning £150,000 per week is being underpaid but in the bonkers context of football, that does seem pretty cheap for arguably the best goalkeeper in the world.
#OnThisDay in 2018: Alisson Becker made his debut for Liverpool 🫡
Here’s the greatest ‘keeper of our generation running the length of the pitch after THAT assist for Salah v United 🇧🇷🫂🇪🇬 #LFC pic.twitter.com/2EEJZonnlN
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) August 12, 2023
RB: Reece James (£250,000 per week)
Fresh off the back of an injury-hit 2022-23 campaign, James is looking to get back to his best with Chelsea this year. Mauricio Pochettino was quick to hand him the armband upon Cesar Azpilicueta leaving this summer.
When fit James is one of the best in the business although, like Neymar, injuries have taken their toll on the 23-year-old over the last couple of seasons.
CB: Ben White (£120,000 per week)
We know he’s more of a right-back these days, but White can slip into any position in a back four with relative ease. The 25-year-old has more than justified his £50million price tag and he will have a big role to play under Mikel Arteta again this year.
CB: Virgil van Dijk (£220,000 per week)
The quality that you can squeeze into this XI is absolutely absurd. Upon his arrival at Anfield in 2018, Liverpool suddenly became a force to be reckoned with at both ends of the pitch.
His current deal at Anfield runs until the summer of 2025 and sees him earning a handsome £220,000 per week, although that seems relatively modest in comparison to Neymar’s new wage.
LB: Luke Shaw (£150,000 per week)
The Manchester United defender is in the conversation to be one of the best full-backs in the business right now. Erik ten Hag has been able to rely upon Shaw since he arrived at the club as the 28-year-old is yet to let him down.
In April this year, Shaw penned a new four-year contract which will keep him at Old Trafford until 2027. United fans are glad to have him around.
CM: Enzo Fernandez (£180,000 per week)
Following an impressive World Cup campaign with Argentina, Chelsea were quick to splash £106.8million on Fernandez. For context, that is £22.6million less than Neymar’s annual wage with Al Hilal.
We already like what we’ve seen from Fernandez though and we’re sure there’s plenty more to come from him in a Chelsea shirt. Having signed an eight-and-a-half-year deal contract at Stamford Bridge, Todd Boehly doesn’t have to worry about his star midfielder getting poached any time soon.
Enzo Fernandez performance v Liverpool yesterday 💥 pic.twitter.com/C28fVe62R5
— Hamaad (@SherlockKherloc) August 14, 2023
CM: Kevin De Bruyne (£400,000 per week)
The Belgian playmaker is the highest-paid player in the Premier League, but even his weekly wage of £400,000 per week pales in comparison to Neymar’s gigantic £2,488,000 sum.
Amazingly so, Neymar will earn over six times the amount De Bruyne does this season. There have been some murmurings that Saudi clubs are weighing up a move for De Bruyne next summer and a similarly lucrative deal will probably be put on the table.
CM: Bruno Fernandes (£240,000 per week)
The Portuguese midfielder looked back to his best last season under Ten Hag and he will have even more responsibility on his shoulders this season after he was handed the captain’s armband.
READ: Ranking every Premier League captain by how much they earn ft. Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool…
RW: Bukayo Saka (£195,000 per week)
After penning a fresh deal with Arsenal earlier this year, Saka now ranks among the highest-paid players in the league and rightly so. The 21-year-old scored a peach of a goal in Arsenal’s season opener and there’s still plenty more to come.
“Players like Saka are so important to this Arsenal side; more often than not he’s the guy who makes the difference,” former Arsenal defender Johan Djourou told Ladbrokes.
“When you look at the amount of money that’s been spent on players in this transfer window if a Man City or someone was to come in for Saka this summer, I think they’d have to go as high as maybe £200m.”
ST: Erling Haaland (£375,000 per week)
Considering he manages to score pretty much every week, Haaland will probably be bumping up his £375,000 weekly wage with plenty of goal bonuses, although he still falls way short of Neymar’s salary.
The Norwegian robot is probably the most ruthless forward in world football right now. We dread to think what sorts of figures Saudi clubs would be prepared to pay to sign Haaland right now.
LW: Son Heung-min (£190,000 per week)
He didn’t have his best campaign last year, but Son still ranks alongside the best forwards in the Premier League. Ange Postecoglou has already shown his faith in the 31-year-old by handing him the captain’s armband for the season ahead.
With Harry Kane now getting used to life away from Tottenham, Son will be more important than ever in this transitional season.
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