LONDON: The total Premier League salary bill in 2022-23 has topped £1.9bn which is a 6.2pc increase on last year, according to research by Alliance Fund.

A crisis-hit season for Chelsea does not look any better in the light of the club having the biggest wage bill at £215.6m, some 11.2pc of all Premier League wage expenditure.

At £213.3m, Manchester United’s salary payout accounts for 11.1pc of the league total, while recently crowned league champions Manchester City account for 9.7pc of league salaries with a bill of £186.1m.

In the past year, some clubs have significantly increased their salary payments, none more so than Nottingham Forest.

After gaining promotion to the top flight, Forest increased its wage bill by 230.4pc to total £74.1m; an investment that has paid off now that the club has more or less secured another year of Premier League football.

Leeds United increased their salary spend by 51pc while Bournemouth upped their bill by 30.1pc

Everton’s salary total in 2022-23 was 26pc lower than in the previous year, while Brighton & Hove Albion’s spend fell by -16.2pc.

Manchester United’s total salary spend fell by -10.7pc on the year as Erik ten Hag kicked out some of the team’s highest earning under-achievers to try and reset the club culture.

‘Astounding’ wealth

Despite this significant reduction, United still has the second-largest salary bill of all Premier League sides.

Alliance Fund ceo Iain Crawford said: “The cumulative wealth of the Premier League is astounding. Each club of the Big 6 pays its squad more than £100m a year, and that’s how they stay at the very top of the game.

“But, as we see with Chelsea who pay their team more than any other club, collecting big money talent isn’t always enough to avoid a dismal match day performance. The likes of Man City and Arsenal are also spending huge amounts, but are clearly ticking other vital boxes as well, such as team chemistry, tactics, and mentality coaching.”

Notably Brighton, with the second lowest squad spend, still managed to secure European football next season.

** Data tables and sources can be viewed online, here.

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