Today, we start publishing a set of articles that examine the relationship between sporting performance and the average annual salaries paid per player by clubs from the “Big-5” (Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A). We will start with the Barclays Premier League.

First, we will look at each season between 2016/2017 and 2019/2020 (until matchday 29) to analyse which clubs achieved better results with these variables taken into account. Then, we will examine the 14 clubs that remained in the Premier League during these seasons and how they performed compared with how much they spend per player on average.

2016/2017

In the 2016/2017 season of the Premier League, Chelsea won the competition while having the 3rd highest annual average salary per player.

From a positive perspective, Bournemouth were 9th in the competition with only the 19th highest salary value. On the other side, Sunderland were a case with less success, finishing in the last place with the 13th highest average annual salary per player.

Only Hull City achieved the same position in the salaries ranking as they did in the competition.

2017/2018

In the following season, Manchester City were crowned champions with the 2nd highest annual average salary per player.

Burnley were the surprise contestant, achieving the 7th position in the league with only the 18th highest salary value. On the opposite side, West Bromwich were the case with less success, finishing in the last place with the 12th highest average annual salary per player.

Crystal Palace, Everton, and Leicester achieved the same position in the salaries ranking as they did in the competition.

2018/2019

In 2018/19 Premier League campaign, Manchester City won the competition once more with the 2nd highest annual average salary per player.

From a positive perspective, Wolverhampton achieved the 7th position in the competition with the 14th highest salary value. On the other side of the coin, Manchester United and Southampton were the cases with less success, finishing in 6th and 16th place with the 1st and 11th highest average annual salaries per player respectively.

Only Chelsea and Arsenal achieved the same position in the salaries ranking as they did in the Premier League.

2019/2020

With 29 matches played, Liverpool are very close to being crowned champions with the 3rd highest annual average salary per player of the league.

On the positive side, Sheffield United are performing incredibly well in the 6th position in the competition with the lowest salary value. On the other hand, West Ham are, until now, the case with less success, occupying the 16th place with the 9th highest average annual salaries per player.

Only Newcastle have, so far, achieved the same position in the salaries ranking as they did in the Premier League.

2016/2017 to 2019/2020 – Which club profits more from the players’ salaries

Finally, we analysed the performance and salaries of the 14 clubs that took part in the Barclays Premier League between 2016/2017 and 2019/2020.

The two giants from Manchester are the clubs with the highest average annual salary per player. Burnley, with recent brilliant campaigns, are the club with more success when comparing sporting performance and salaries since, on average, they achieved the 12th place with only the 18th highest average amount per player.

Sources: sporting intelligence; football-industry.com; zerozero.