When Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne signed a two-year contract extension in 2021, he reportedly became the highest earner in the Premier League on wages of £400,000 per week.
De Bruyne still had two years remaining on his deal, but the extension tied the 32-year-old to the club until 2025 and meant that Pep Guardiola and Manchester City could continue to build their team and squad around the influential playmaker for the next four years.
City coping without De Bruyne
In the current Premier League season, De Bruyne has only made one appearance thanks to an injury he picked up in the first match of the season against Burnley. Without him, City is doing just fine, and they are still odds-on favorites with the bookmakers to win the 2023/24 Premier League title. A football bet on City is currently -200, with Arsenal next at +400. In the latest Premier League relegation odds, City are +15000 and Arsenal are +100000. The reason why City’s odds are shorter than Arsenal’s is due to potential FFP penalties.
De Bruyne is worth every penny in the eyes of Manchester City
The reason why Kevin De Bruyne is the best-paid player in the Premier League is because City feel he is that important to them. Plenty will debate who the best player in the Premier League is, and many will point to players like Mohamed Salah and even some of the younger stars at Manchester City and claim that they are more important than De Bruyne.
But as important as they might be, the Belgian playmaker ranks highly with his manager and club, as they are prepared to make him the highest earner in the English top flight.
Why do some players earn more than expected?
Sometimes clubs pay over the top to get a player to sign for them. Two names that spring to mind are Casemiro at Manchester United and Raheem Sterling at Chelsea.
🇧🇷 Enter, @Casemiro. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/f2oU3aok28
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 22, 2022
To prise Casemiro away from his lucrative deal at Real Madrid, Manchester United had to dangle a huge carrot in front of the Brazilian. Casemiro is rumored to have signed a deal worth £300,000 a week at Old Trafford. He may be important to United. But he doesn’t have the same impact as De Bruyne does at City.
Another player rumored to earn upwards of £300,000 a week is Raheem Sterling of Chelsea. Like Casemiro, Sterling was on a good wage at a big club (Man City), and to tempt him away, a huge incentive had to be placed in front of him.
Again, it would be hard to argue that Sterling has a similar impact on the Chelsea team as De Bruyne does for City. Although at 28 years of age, he does have time on his side.
Mohamed Salah is value for money for Liverpool
The player who does offer pound-for-pound value for money alongside De Bruyne would have to be Mohamed Salah at Liverpool. The Egyptian striker did have to work hard for his deal of £350,000 a week, as Liverpool were reluctant to break their wage structure to give him it.
We’re delighted to announce that @MoSalah has signed a new long-term contract with the Reds! ❤️#SalahStays
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 1, 2022
Eventually, Salah won the day and signed his new deal in 2022. Jurgen Klopp had just lost Sadio Mane to rivals Bayern Munich. Salah knew the club wouldn’t want to lose him as well, and that played a huge part in him getting the wage he felt he deserved.
Along with De Bruyne, Salah would have to be one of the best pound-for-pound players in the Premier League.