Why Liverpool can’t keep Salah, Van Dijk and TAA as three clubs approach financial oblivion

Liverpool are already operating towards the top of their wage structure, although three clubs in particular are risking absolute financial oblivion.

Arsenal (announced to June 2024)

Wages: £328m (5th)
Average weekly wage: £136,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 53% (2nd)

The good news is that this is all sustainable; Arsenal are set up to finish second and trophyless for the next decade without encountering too many financial issues.

Almost all their higher earners have at least two years remaining on those contracts, with Thomas Partey the exception ahead of his expiration this summer. Mikel Arteta did a ludicrous amount of course-correcting work in his first few years at the Emirates and the desperation to deliver something tangible in return is obvious.

Aston Villa (announced to June 2023)

Wages: £194m (9th)
Average weekly wage: £80,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 89% (17th)

That is not a relegation zone any club wants to float around for too long. And it is without taking into account Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford, whose wages Villa are covering all and the majority of respectively during their loans.

This is a monumental gamble on consistent Champions League qualification they cannot really afford to have backfire, unless a great deal more annoying PSR sales are going to be made every summer.

Bournemouth (announced to June 2023)

Wages: £100m (20th)
Average weekly wage: £41,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 71% (9th)

It is a quite astonishing testament to their brilliance that Bournemouth are in the top half of the Premier League table, never mind Champions League qualification contention and an FA Cup quarter-final.

Andoni Iraola is on one of the smaller Premier League manager wages too. If the Cherries don’t correct that post-haste then another club absolutely will.

Brentford (announced to June 2024)

Wages: £114m (19th)
Average weekly wage: £47,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 69% (8th)

The bus stop in Hounslow has been punching above its weight for so long that such excellence has been entirely normalised. It is a remarkable achievement for Brentford to survive in the Premier League, never mind for what will soon be four seasons with relative comfort at a time the gap from the Championship to the top flight has never been greater.

Ivan Toney takes home about double the combined wages of his former teammates but at least he is presumably happy.

Brighton (announced to June 2024)

Wages: £146m (12th)
Average weekly wage: £61,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 56% (4th)

There will always be pretenders and contenders but Brighton are the absolute kings in terms of scalable and sustainable growth fuelled by sensible decision-makers and an awareness of their natural place in the football food chain.

While Chelsea and others covet their best players, Brighton have already signed his replacement’s replacement’s replacement. And poaching their scouts and recruitment heads won’t stop them either. Paul Barber’s laptop is worth an unthinkable amount of money.

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Chelsea (announced to June 2023)

Wages: £404m (2nd)
Average weekly wage: £167,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 79% (14th)

Only two players are said to be on £200,000 a week or more as part of Chelsea’s strict wage structure. But when you build four separate squads for each competition, it tends to add up.

They also generate less commercial, broadcast and matchday revenue than any other member of the Big Six, which feels like an issue that cannot be amortised.

Crystal Palace (announced to June 2023)

Wages: £131m (17th)
Average weekly wage: £54,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 73% (10th)

It doesn’t scream ‘one of Europe’s form teams’ but then neither does Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jose Mourinho or a post-retirement Claudio Ranieri in 2025.

The available numbers are pre-Glasner but they underline his alchemy nevertheless.

Everton (announced to June 2023)

Wages: £159m (11th)
Average weekly wage: £66,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 92% (18th)

Contrary to popular conspiratorial belief, they were not deducted eight points in 2023/24 for a laugh; Sean Dyche and David Moyes are skilled enough to make something edible and palatable from the barest of cupboards but at some point Everton should probably consider escaping that infernal cycle of financial oblivion.

Fulham (announced to June 2023)

Wages: £139m (16th)
Average weekly wage: £58,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 76% (12th)

Fulham are operating towards the bottom of the net spend table while holding their own in the Champions League race. It is a quiet competence which does not dominate headlines but should be commended.

Leicester (announced to June 2023)

Wages: £206m (7th)
Average weekly wage: £85,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 116% (20th)

It feels sub-optimal. This is based on the accounts from the season which culminated in their most recent relegation, since which some attempts have been made to cut costs and right some glaringly obvious wrongs. But that is incredibly stark.

Having basically avoided punishment thus far on the technicality of falling through the jurisdictive cracks between the Championship and Premier League, Leicester are running out of road to kick the can down. The time bomb is ticking.

Liverpool (announced to June 2024)

Wages: £386m (3rd)
Average weekly wage: £160,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 63% (7th)

Once again for those in the back: a club’s wage bill should be a far greater indicator of their performance than transfer spend. It is why Liverpool can chuck £10m at the relative nothingness of Federico Chiesa and go from third to first in a single season without it being completely inexplicable.

But that total spend on wages is the biggest complicating factor in those contract negotiations, and the most obvious reason they cannot simply shout any random numbers across the table to the agents of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Keeping all three almost certainly means having the biggest outlay on wages of any Premier League club.

Manchester City (announced to June 2024)

Wages: £413m (1st)
Average weekly wage: £171,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 58% (5th)

And topping the wage table is no guarantee of leading the real one. It was for a good few years the foundation for Manchester City’s relentless trophy-hoarding, but when eyes are taken off balls – and Rodri’s knee gives way under the pressure – it is entirely liable to come crashing down.

But look at all that commercial revenue. No, that’s too close. Don’t look too deep at it. Just glance, marvel, move on and don’t ask questions.

Manchester United (announced to June 2024)

Wages: £365m (4th)
Average weekly wage: £151,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 55% (3rd)

There is sadly no cost-cutting table, although Sir Scrooge McRatcliffe seems to be of a different belief.

Only Leicester are under-performing relative to their position in the wage table more starkly than Manchester United. Next season’s accounts will include the savings on restricted lunches and unnecessary paperclip orders so everything is fine.

Newcastle (announced to June 2023)

Wages: £187m (9th)
Average weekly wage: £77,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 75% (11th)

Those should not be numbers so ridiculous as to require no significant recent signings and the habitual use of PSR loopholes but it is a precarious reality for those below the glass ceiling. There is a reason it is called the Big Six and not the Top Six and it essentially comes down to revenue: Newcastle generate the second-highest behind West Ham (£270m) of those outside the elite at £250m, less than half of the lowest club inside it (Chelsea at £512m).

The Premier League has been conquered so get those £5bn kit deals signed and sent off, basically.

Nottingham Forest (announced to June 2023)

Wages: £145m (14th)
Average weekly wage: £60,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 94% (19th)

For Forest perhaps more than any other Premier League club, their most recent financial results are the least relevant to their current situation. This is when they were battling relegation under Steve Cooper, even before a points deduction in 2023/24, rather than competing for Champions League football and an FA Cup under Nuno.

That really could be transformative money. Simply participating in the Champions League league phase is worth £15.6m and that is before factoring in bonuses for winning, drawing, finishing higher or going further in the knockouts.

Southampton (announced to June 2023)

Wages: £122m (18th)
Average weekly wage: £51,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 84% (16th)

When you put it like that, 20th doesn’t sound catastrophic. But they are so painfully 20th and the only two sides paying less in wages are 7th and 11th, both of whom were promoted recently and have made comparative ease of the transition.

This was Southampton under Ralph Hasenhuttl, Nathan Jones and Ruben Selles. It will not look much prettier when those names are changed for Russell Martin and Ivan Juric while Sport Republic remain so committed to learning no lessons from the experience of relegation and promotion.

Spurs (announced to June 2023)

Wages: £251m (6th)
Average weekly wage: £104,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 46% (1st)

You’ll never sing that, etc and so forth. Of course Daniel Levy was the highest-paid chairman of any Premier League club, receiving at least twice as much as any of his contemporaries.

West Ham (announced to June 2024)

Wages: £161m (10th)
Average weekly wage: £67,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 60% (6th)

It does make them seem weirdly, jarringly competent, despite most available evidence provided on the pitch this season. Moyes left them in a strong place and Graham Potter might belatedly help them push on from there.

Wolves (announced to June 2024)

Wages: £142m (15th)
Average weekly wage: £59,000
Wage to revenue ratio: 80% (15th)

While nowhere close to economic ruin, Wolves also feel quite far from breaking back into that echelon above where they are not constantly fearing relegation and selling their best players.

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