Manchester United are top of the table again - just not when it comes to football.
It's emerged that the Red Devils boast the highest wage bill in the Premier League, paying their group of big-name stars a combined total of nearly £4million per week. That'd be fine if United were performing like their balance sheets suggest, but Erik ten Hag's struggling side can't even finish in the Champions League places after a wretched 2024-25 season.
Meanwhile, the three teams fighting for the Premier League title - Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool - all pay less each week and make up three of the top five in the table. City's weekly wage bill comes to £3.705m while Arsenal - desperate to stop them winning from a fourth successive title - pay out £3.298m as per financial database Capology.
After Todd Boehly's £1billion transfer splurge, Chelsea rank fourth by shelling out a cool £2.978m every seven days. That's five places above where they currently find themselves in the actual league table, as they're languishing in ninth.
In fifth place comes Liverpool, whose £2.67m bill lends credence to the notion that Jurgen Klopp's side have outperformed expectations this term. That's what new United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is hoping for next season, as the INEOS chairman looks to cut costs during the summer transfer window in an effort to make it a more prosperous 2024-25 campaign.
The Red Devils are already planning to offload high earners Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial, with the French duo both out of contract in June. But as reported this week, there are plenty more stars who Ratcliffe and co are willing to listen to offers for, including the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
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While their sales could be a major blow to Ten Hag or whichever manager is in charge of United next season, they'd go a long way in the club's fight to avoid being sanctioned by UEFA over breaches of their Financial Fair Play regulations. Ratcliffe has already explained how vital qualifying for the Champions League would've been and with that now out of the question, he'll have to find other ways of making ends meet.
It's not only on the pitch where the British billionaire is looking to tighten the purse strings either, as he's already chosen to cut staff perks for United's upcoming FA Cup final clash with bitter rivals City. Brutal changes include staff members who usually get free travel to and from Wembley needing to pay £20 for their seat on the coach.
The wage statistics have surfaced following an agreement between Premier League clubs to implement a strict spending cap from the 2025-26 season onwards. It'd limit teams' spending on transfers, wages and agent fees to five times the amount earned by the bottom club in TV and prize money. United and City voted reportedly against it.
Table of Premier League weekly wages
1. Manchester United - £3,821,000
2. Manchester City - £3,705,000
3. Arsenal - £3,298,000
4. Chelsea - £2,978,000
5. Liverpool - £2,670,000
6. Aston Villa - £2,135,000
7. Tottenham - £2,130,000
8. West Ham - £1,833,000
9. Newcastle - £1,638,000
10. Everton - £1,524,000
11. Crystal Palace - £1,408,000
12. Fulham - £1,288,000
13. Nottingham Forest - £1,283,000
14. Brighton - £1,165,000
15. Bournemouth - 973,000
16. Brentford - £836,000
17. Wolverhampton Wanderers - £830,000
18. Burnley - £707,000
19. Sheffield United - £674,000
20. Luton Town - £469,000
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