The earning power of English Premier League footballers has been so publicly vaunted in the media that it is uncommon to hear of players earning over £100,000 per week without barely a flutter at the calibre of player attracting those monies.
The figure that has earned a certain player the title of 'highest-paid Premier League star' has increased nearly every single year but the contrast from the inaugural campaign to present day almost defies description.
Our colleagues at Mirror Football took a closer look at the highest earning player from each Premier League season, revealing how much they were pocketing and whether they ended up proving their worth on the pitch in the process.
1992/93 & 1993/94 - John Barnes, £10,000-per-week
The Liverpool legend made history when he became the first British player to receive £10,000-per-week when he joined the Reds way back in 1987. Though he arrived at Anfield five years before the eventual inception of the Premier League, he remained one of the highest paid players during a hugely transitional period for English football.
Barnes' salary sent shockwaves through the game in its own right as the Liverpool hero was taking home £520,000-per-year…not a bad sum in 2022!
1994/95 - Eric Cantona, £18,000-per-week
John Barnes and Chris Sutton enjoyed the status of being the league's highest earners for the bulk of the campaign on £10,000-per-week. However, they swiftly had their thunder stolen when Cantona was rewarded for his efforts for Manchester United with a bumper new deal later on that term.
The Frenchman, who had been famously signed cheaply from Leeds United, was granted £18,000-per-week by the Red Devils, despite causing huge controversy when he kung-fu kicked a Crystal Palace fan that had abused him from the crowd.
1995/96 - Dennis Bergkamp, £25,000-per-week
The 'Iceman' Bergkamp joined Arsenal with something to prove after a torrid stint with Serie A giants Inter Milan and silence any doubters during his tenure at the North London outfit.
All of Arsenal's Premier League title wins came while Bergkamp was at the club. The mercurial midfielder more than justified his £25,000-per-week wage with his work ethic and some of the most iconic goals in English football history,
1996/97 - Fabrizio Ravanelli, £42,000-per-week
Another player that arrived on English shores from the Italian top flight, Middlesbrough paid £7million for the services of Ravanelli from Juventus.
The “White Feather” spent just one season at the Riverside, and while not universally popular with his team-mates, the Italian international netted a stunning 31 goals in 48 matches across all competitions.
Ravanelli's goals helped the club reach the finals of both domestic cup competitions, though he could not get secure any silverware as Middlesbrough lost in that season’s FA Cup and League Cup finals.
1997/98 & 1998/99 - Alan Shearer, £34,000-per-week
As Ravanelli headed to Marseille, Alan Shearer became the highest paid player in the Premier League while at boyhood club Newcastle United.
The England international was a goal machine everywhere he went and remains the highest scoring player in Premier League history to this day.
All of Shearer's individual honours were to come outside of the two-season window where he was the highest earning player in the division. His last Premier League golden boot came the season prior while Ravanelli was topping the wage charts.
1999/2000 & 00/01 - Roy Keane, £52,000-per-week
The iconic Manchester United midfielder was identified as a future star by Brian Clough and his talismanic status at Old Trafford has never been in doubt.
With that being said, the fact he had surpassed the £50,000 mark before 2000 is a testament to how highly-rated Keane was by the very same United hierarchy he would go on to fall out with some years later.
Keane's salary increase came just after United had secured a historic treble with the Irishman very much integral to that achievement.
2001/02 & 2002/03 - Roy Keane, £90,000-per-week
Keane held the title of the Premier League's highest paid player for four seasons following his contract extension prior to the start of the 2001/02 season.
The skipper saw his weekly wage increase to £90,000-per-week though the 2001/02 season was the first in four years that Manchester United did not end up with any silverware.
2003/04 - Hernan Crespo, £94,000-per-week
Hernan Crespo was one of many marquee signings of the initial part of the Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea and though Chelsea may have come up against Arsenal’s Invincibles, Crespo couldn’t be beaten in terms of his wages.
Crespo spent three of his five seasons at the club away on loan in Italy but did win the Premier League title in 2005/06.
2004/05 - Frank Lampard, £98,000-per-week
Symbollic of Jose Mourinho's period of Chelsea dominance, Lampard was made the highest paid player in the Premier League in a deal that was just shy of £100,000 per-week.
The ex-England international left little doubt that he was worth every penny as the Blues charged to their first Premier League title, boasting the most resilient defence on record as they did it.
It was fitting that Lampard effectively secured Chelsea's title with his goal away at Bolton, sending the travelling Blues supporters into raptures.
2005/06 - Steven Gerrard, £100,000-per-week
Fresh off the high of one of the most memorable Champions League triumphs in football history, Gerrard returned to Merseyside to become the first Premier League star to receive £100,000-per-week.
Chelsea, and Jose Mourinho in particular, made many overtures to the player and that probably assisted his agent greatly in negotiating the then-record fee.
Gerrard’s loyalty was rewarded with record wages though some may suggest that it would be hard not to have your head turned by the lure of the Bridge.
2006/07 - Andriy Shevchenko, £118,000-per-week
One of the most bankable international stars in the game, Shevchenko arrived from AC Milan on big wages but his returns failed to live up to expectations.
The Ukraninan netted just four goals in 30 appearances during his debut season, hardly the return many expected when Chelsea forked out the most money a British club had ever paid for a player in terms of transfer fee.
Lasting just two seasons at the club, he was loaned back to the San Siro to spend the entirety of the 2008/09 season with AC once again.
2007/08 - John Terry, £135,000-per-week
The central defender pocketed £135,000 every week on account of arguably being one of the world’s best players in his position.
Despite his reputation being regrettably tarnished by his own behaviours, the ex-England skipper is still adored by the Chelsea faithful to this day. His costly slip in the Champions League final at the end of this season was to prove a particularly unfortunate end to that season.
2008/09 - Robinho, £160,000-per-week
The Brazilian's arrival in the blue half of Manchester marked a shift in power as Man City declared themselves as one of the division's big-hitters. Robinho's arrival represented a new dawn for the club as they proved they now had the riches to entice the greatest players the game had to offer.
The former Real Madrid man netted 14 goals in 31 appearances.
2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12 & 2012/13 - Carlos Tevez, £250,000-per-week
Manchester City may been viewed by Sir Alex Ferguson as noisy neighbours though they were shouting from the rooftops when securing the services of Carlos Tevez at £250,000-a-week for four seasons.
The Argentine initially justified with some fantastic performances, but eventually tailed off to the point where he had a very public bust-up with then-manager Roberto Mancini.
Tevez proceeded to spend the months after playing golf back in South America after he was temporarily exiled from the first-team fold at the Etihad.
2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16 & 2016/17 - Wayne Rooney, £300,000-per-week
During the tail-end of the 2013/14 season Yaya Toure had overtaken his Man City teammate Carlos Tevez but before the season's close Wayne Rooney eclipsed the pair with a £300,000-a-week following protracted and very public hardball by the player.
This contract tied Rooney to Old Trafford for another five-and-a-half years, during which time United failed to win another League title but did land an FA Cup, League Cup and a Europa League crown.
2017/18 & 2018/19 - Alexis Sanchez, £350,000-per-week
The Chilean joined Manchester United mid-way through the 2017/18 season from Arsenal and is reported to have told his agent if there was any way he could go back to the Gunners after just one training session at Carrington.
Inheriting the club's iconic number seven shirt, Sanchez never settled in his new surroundings and scored just three Premier League goals across the course of his entire United stay.
2019/20 - David de Gea, £375,000-per-week
Peter Schmeichel showed the value to Manchester United of a great shot stopper and De Gea briefly became the club's highest earner at a time when his form was arguably some way beneath its zenith.
The Spanish stalwart signed a mega-money contract extension during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's reign.
2020/21 - Gareth Bale, £560,000-per-week
An astonishing figure but one that suited many parties – particularly the player who wasn’t getting the opportunities at his parent club though his manager was doubtless happy to have Bale out of his hair.
Famously, the majority of this wage was not paid by Tottenham Hotspur but by Real Madrid as the Welshman went back to the Premier League on loan for a season long deal.
2021/22 – Cristiano Ronaldo £480,000-per-week
The prodigal son of Old Trafford made a triumphant return at the tail-end of last summer's transfer window for a figure of around £20m. The apparent "bargain" not allowing for the not insignificant matter of enhanced wages that United are currently forking out as wages in order to make him the highest paid player in the division.
At 37, Ronaldo could hardly be anticipated to have the same impact he had but his presence still inspires fear and his ability at set pieces remains.
