The highest paid Premier League player for EVERY season with Cristiano Ronaldo beaten by surprise star

THE HIGHEST paid player for every Premier League season has been revealed.

Cristiano Ronaldo is narrowly pipped to the title of the league’s biggest earner by former Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale.

PACristiano Ronaldo has been beaten to the title of the Premier League’s highest paid player ever[/caption]

PAGareth Bale earned £560,000-per-week during his loan at Tottenham in 2020/21[/caption]

Both players made surprise returns to England in back-to-back seasons in 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Ronaldo’s Manchester United comeback in 2021 saw him earn £480,000-per-week until his dramatic exit in November last year.

Although those wages made him the best paid player in the league two seasons ago, it fell short of Bale’s earnings the campaign before.

The Welshman earned a staggering £560,000-per-week during his season-long loan with Tottenham.

However, a majority of those wages are understood to have been paid by his parent club Real Madrid.

Spurs still got their money’s worth for what they did pay, though, as Bale scored 11 goals in 20 league appearances during his North London return.

With both Bale and Ronaldo no longer in the Premier League, Kevin De Bruyne has taken over as the highest paid player for both last term and the current campaign.

The Manchester City midfielder is said to be earning £400,000-per-week as part of the four-year deal he signed in 2021.

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The TimesKevin De Bruyne’s £400,000 weekly wages make him the current highest paid player[/caption]

GettyWayne Rooney earned £300,000-per-week in his final four years at Manchester United[/caption]

His earnings are a whopping 40 times more than those of John Barnes in the first-ever Premier League season.

According to data from the Mirror, Liverpool paid Barnes weekly wages of £10,000 during the 1992/93 season, with the winger earning £520,000-a-year during his prime.

Four years later, Fabrizio Ravanelli took home £42,000-per-week during his sole season at Middlesbrough.

A pair of bumper contracts in the late 1990s and early 2000s saw Roy Keane hold the top earner’s spot for four seasons as his wages went from £52,000 to £94,000.

Steven Gerrard later took the marquee figure to £100,000 in 2005 after signing a new deal at Anfield amid interest from Chelsea.

Alexis Sanchez was the league’s best paid player for two seasons after leaving Arsenal for United in 2018Getty Images – Getty

Carlos Tevez’s move to City in 2010 saw the Argentine striker earn £250,000-per-week to top the list until 2013.

Following Tevez’s move to Juventus, Wayne Rooney replaced him at the top of the list with the biggest contract of his career.

United paid the former England captain £300,000-per-week during his final four years at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils followed that up by paying Alexis Sanchez and David de Gea £350,000 and £375,000, respectively, across the next three seasons before Bale’s Tottenham return.

Highest paid Premier League player each season

1992/93: John Barnes – £10,000-per-week

1993/94: John Barnes – £10,000-per-week

1994/95: Eric Cantona – £18,000-per-week

1995/96: Dennis Bergkamp – £25,000-per-week

1996/97: Fabrizio Ravanelli – £42,000-per-week

1997/98: Alan Shearer – £34,000-per-week

1998/99: Alan Shearer – £34,000-per-week

1999/00: Roy Keane – £52,000-per-week

2000/01: Roy Keane – £52,000-per-week

2001/02: Roy Keane – £90,000-per-week

2002/03: Roy Keane – £94,000-per-week

2003/04: Hernan Crespo – £94,000-per-week

2004/05: Frank Lampard – £98,000-per-week

2005/06: Steven Gerrard – £100,000-per-week

2006/07: Andriy Shevchenko – £118,000-per-week

2007/08: John Terry – £135,000-per-week

2008/09: Robinho – £160,000-per-week

2009/10: Carlos Tevez – £250,000-per-week

2010/11: Carlos Tevez – £250,000-per-week

2011/12: Carlos Tevez – £250,000-per-week

2012/13: Carlos Tevez – £250,000-per-week

2013/14: Wayne Rooney – £300,000-per-week

2014/15: Wayne Rooney – £300,000-per-week

2015/16: Wayne Rooney – £300,000-per-week

2016/17: Wayne Rooney – £300,000-per-week

2017/18: Alexis Sanchez – £350,000-per-week

2018/19: Alexis Sanchez – £350,000-per-week

2019/20: David de Gea – £375,000-per-week

2020/21: Gareth Bale – £560,000-per-week (Majority paid by Real Madrid)

2021/22: Cristiano Ronaldo – £480,000-per-week

2022/23: Kevin De Bruyne – £400,000-per-week

2023/24: Kevin De Bruyne – £400,000-per-week