Comparing every Premier League club’s wage bill to its 2026-27 league position
Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal are all sitting in vastly contrasting places when you compare their wage bill rankings to their league positions after the first four games of the 2026-27 Premier League season.
Of course, it’s early in the season. Very early. Four matches can tell us only so much about how the season will eventually play out, and the table is still taking shape.
Still, there are already some big, eye-catching differences between wage outlay and performance.
Newly-promoted Hull City lead the way. They are third in the Premier League despite having the 19th-highest wage bill, which stands at just £16million. That is a remarkable +16 difference between their league position and wage ranking.
Brighton and Brentford are joint-second in that regard. Brighton are fourth while ranking 15th for wages, with a £51million annual bill. Brentford are sixth despite having the 17th-highest wage bill, at £49million. No massive surprise there, given those two are the standard bearers for the data-led revolution and have led the way in terms of consistent overperformance for years now.
Ipswich have also made an impressive start. They occupy ninth place while sitting 18th in the wage rankings. Their annual wage bill is only £20million, giving them a +9 difference.
The traditional powerhouses have produced a mixed bag. Arsenal are top while having the third-highest wage bill in the division, at £154million. That puts them +2 ahead of their wage position, while Manchester City are second and exactly where their spending suggests. Both of them boast a 100% winning record so far and are where you’d expect them to be.
Chelsea are fifth with the seventh-highest wage bill, £97million, while top spenders Liverpool are enduring some teething problems under new boss Andoni Iraola – just one league win so far, and seventh in the actual table. The Reds have the highest wage bill in the Premier League at £177million but sit only seventh, giving them a -6 difference.
The other ‘Big Six’ underachievers are not hard to spot. Manchester United are 13th with the fourth-highest wage bill of £152million, while Tottenham are 17th with the fifth-highest at £138million. Oof.
Villa are even further off the pace. They are 19th despite having the sixth-highest wage bill, with £98million going on salaries. That puts them -13 against their wage ranking.
We’ve ranked every Premier League club by the gap between their league position and wage-bill ranking, from the biggest overperformers to the biggest underperformers. Keep an eye on this one as we’ll be keeping it updated as the season progresses.
Note: All wage bill data is via Capology.
20. Aston Villa
League Position: 19 Wage Bill Ranking: 6 Annual wage bill: £98m Difference: -13
19. Tottenham
League Position: 17 Wage Bill Ranking: 5 Annual wage bill: £138m Difference: -12
18. Manchester United
League Position: 13 Wage Bill Ranking: 4 Annual wage bill: £152m Difference: -9
17. Crystal Palace
League Position: 16 Wage Bill Ranking: 9 Annual wage bill: £66m Difference: -7
16. Liverpool
League Position: 7 Wage Bill Ranking: 1 Annual wage bill: £177m Difference: -6
15. Fulham
League Position: 18 Wage Bill Ranking: 13 Annual wage bill: £57m Difference: -5
14. Bournemouth
League Position: 15 Wage Bill Ranking: 11 Annual wage bill: £63m Difference: -4
13. Nottingham Forest
League Position: 12 Wage Bill Ranking: 10 Annual wage bill: £64m Difference: -2
12. Newcastle United
League Position: 10 Wage Bill Ranking: 8 Annual wage bill: £68m Difference: -2
11. Coventry
League Position: 20 Wage Bill Ranking: 20 Annual wage bill: £13m Difference: 0
10. Manchester City
League Position: 2 Wage Bill Ranking: 2 Annual wage bill: £177m Difference: 0
9. Sunderland
League Position: 14 Wage Bill Ranking: 16 Annual wage bill: £50m Difference: +2
8. Chelsea
League Position: 5 Wage Bill Ranking: 7 Annual wage bill: £97m Difference: +2
7. Arsenal
League Position: 1 Wage Bill Ranking: 3 Annual wage bill: £154m Difference: +2
6. Leeds United
League Position: 11 Wage Bill Ranking: 14 Annual wage bill: £53m Difference: +3
5. Everton
League Position: 8 Wage Bill Ranking: 12 Annual wage bill: £59m Difference: +4
4. Ipswich
League Position: 9 Wage Bill Ranking: 18 Annual wage bill: £20m Difference: +9
3. Brentford
League Position: 6 Wage Bill Ranking: 17 Annual wage bill: £49m Difference: +11
2. Brighton
League Position: 4 Wage Bill Ranking: 15 Annual wage bill: £51m Difference: +11
1. Hull City
League Position: 3 Wage Bill Ranking: 19 Annual wage bill: £16m Difference: +16
