Surprising Liverpool wage bill details revealed compared to Man Utd, Man City - but there is a Chelsea caveat

The latest figures regarding Premier League clubs’ wage bills has been released with Liverpool currently sat second on the list among their rivals.

That’s according to the chief sports writer for the Times, Martyn Ziegler, who posted on Twitter that the Reds paid out a £366m yearly wage bill - a figure that has increased by 75% since 2017.

Ahead of them on the list is Manchester United, whose figures from last season were enlarged greatly by the sizeable wage that Cristiano Ronaldo no doubt required. That figure sees them sit second on the list ahead of Arsenal (£206m) Tottenham (£209m) Chelsea (£333m - 2021/22) and even Manchester City (£354m), with only Manchester United (£384m) producing a higher total. Chelsea’s full accounts, however, are yet to be released for last season.

For Liverpool, the 75% increase from 2017 will surely be down to the success that they’ve achieved from then until now; in that period they went onto win the Premier League, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, Super Cup, Community Shield, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Not only would those triumphs have come with more bonuses for the players but given Liverpool’s transfer model of signing players who weren’t quote-on-quote ‘superstars’ with high wages, players have been rewarded with improved contracts as a result of thier successes.

For example, the likes of Roberto Firmino, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil Van Dijk and Andrew Robertson are just a few who have signed improved deals during that time. Whilst there have also been signings that have warranted a high wage such as Thiago and Darwin Nunez.

To see Liverpool ahead of Manchester City is certainly surprising, given the substantial wealth and collection of top players right the way through their squad. However, when you break it down, City’s squad is around 21 players, whilst Liverpool’s is closer to 30 meaning they’re paying less and have selected a squad based on quality rather than quantity.

It must be said that Liverpool, and many other sides, have awarded big contracts outside of these findings from the last two transfer windows - with big money moves including Erling Haaland to City, Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea and Darwin Nunez to Liverpool, to name a few.