Ranking every Prem club by their wage spend per point in 2021-22

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Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo during their Premier League defeat against Everton at Goodison Park, Liverpool, April 2022.

Michael Lee
3rd June 2022

The Premier League is widely regarded as the richest in world football, with its member clubs using their substantial television money to pay their players huge amounts – but which sides are getting the best value for their investment?

Around £1.5billion was spent on wages between the 20 Premier League clubs last season, with Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo receiving a whopping £515,000 a week, and it’d be a surprise to see this figure decrease anytime soon.

But large amounts spent on player salaries don’t necessarily mean success. While Manchester City and Liverpool have invested heavily in wage expenditure, results on the pitch have matched the sum spent.

At the other end of the table, Brentford’s £18million wage bill is the lowest in the Premier League and the Bees coasted to safety. Leeds United and Brighton are also getting their money’s worth from their salary investment.

Tottenham and Arsenal both fare well too; the two clubs haven’t had regular access to Champions League windfalls but are clearly making the most of what they already have.

Clubs like Leicester, Crystal Palace and Watford will certainly feel they could have achieved more considering the sums spent on wages, although Palace had a good season and their figure is probably inflated due to the London premium.

The table makes grim reading for three clubs in particular. Chelsea have a mammoth wage bill and, despite finishing third, will feel that finishing 19 points behind champions City simply isn’t good enough.

While Everton spent the entire campaign battling against relegation with a mish-mash of a squad that severely underperformed.

But the worst offenders – by far – were Manchester United. The club spent almost £215million on player salaries last season but finished with their lowest Premier League points tally of 58.

Using data from Capology, we’ve crunched the numbers and ranked every 2021-22 Premier League club by their salary expenditure per Premier League point. The ranking is from the lowest to highest spenders per point won.

1. Brentford
Annual wage bill: £18,320,000
Points: 46
Spend per point: £398,260

2. Leeds United
Annual wage bill: £23,810,000
Points: 38
Spend per point: £626,578

3. Brighton
Annual wage bill: £40,280,000
Points: 51
Spend per point: £789,803

4. Wolves
Annual wage bill: £52,250,000
Points: 51
Spend per point: £1,024,509

5. Burnley
Annual wage bill: £36,920,000
Points: 35
Spend per point: £1,054,857

6. Tottenham Hotspur
Annual wage bill: £75,536,000
Points: 71
Spend per point: £1,063,887

READ: Ranking every Tottenham player by their 21-22 points per game: Skipp 1st

7. Arsenal
Annual wage bill: £87,310,000
Points: 69
Spend per point: £1,265,362

8. West Ham United
Annual wage bill: £71,956,000
Points: 56
Spend per point: £1,284,928

9. Aston Villa
Annual wage bill: £59,970,000
Points: 45
Spend per point: £1,288,222

10. Southampton
Annual wage bill: £52,140,000
Points: 40
Spend per point: £1,303,500

11. Newcastle United
Annual wage bill: £65,850,000
Points: 49
Spend per point: £1,343,877

READ: The Premier League table for 2022: Newcastle 4th, Man Utd 9th…

12. Norwich City
Annual wage bill: £29,600,000
Points: 22
Spend per point: £1,345,454

13. Leicester City
Annual wage bill: £72,810,000
Points: 52
Spend per point: £1,400,192

14. Liverpool
Annual wage bill: £139,752,000
Points: 92
Spend per point: £1,519,043

15. Crystal Palace
Annual wage bill: £72,950,000
Points: 48
Spend per point: £1,519,791

16. Manchester City
Annual wage bill: £149,192,000
Points: 93
Spend per point: £1,604,215

PETER DRURY’s COMMENTARY ON GUNDOGAN GOAL TO WIN MANCHESTER CITY THE LEAGUE. GOAT 🐐 pic.twitter.com/VPDKDJQYEr

— NUNGUA BURNA (FACTOS RONALDO) (@viewsdey) May 22, 2022