The football world has a lot to thank England for when it comes to the
beautiful game. Firstly they created the game we all love, which has helped
many fans through difficult times, providing escapism and relief from life’s
daily pressures. Despite inventing the game, England have only managed to win
one World Cup in their history, back in 1966 when they last hosted the
tournament. They’ve found it difficult due to their well-documented struggles
from 12 yards as well as stubbornness in adapting their way of playing,
until very recently.
However, despite a lack of success on the international stage, England has
managed to build one of the world’s most entertaining and competitive football
competitions, the Premier League. Since being created in 1992, the Premier
League has grown exponentially, which has seen it become the world’s highest
paying league. Most of Gareth Southgate’s England players are employed by
Premier League clubs, meaning they’re among the top earners in the sport. Here
are England’s highest-paid players.
Jadon
Sancho
Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho is believed to be England’s highest-paid
player after his big-money move to the Red Devils in the summer. While still
only 22 years old, Sancho has been around for a long time, having spent four
seasons in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund. He joined the German side
after impressing in the youth ranks at Watford and later Manchester City,
quickly thriving in the club’s youth-friendly environment. Manchester United
reportedly paid £73 million for the England forward and his wage is believed to
be in the region of £350,000 a week.
Jack
Grealish
While things haven’t fully clicked for Jack Grealish at Manchester City yet,
few are doubting that the move will eventually turn out to be a success due to
the Birmingham born attacker’s habit of silencing his critics. The former Aston
Villa captain has seen a lot in his young career, relegations, promotions and
off-pitch scandals, not to mention being punched in the face by an opposition
fan during a game. His strength in the face of adversity was as important as
his ability in convincing City
to sign him for a reported fee of over £100 million, with wages of £300,000
Raheem
Sterling
Raheem Sterling is another one of Manchester City’s English contingent that has built a reputation as an elite player despite having to overcome several difficult hurdles. Sterling played in the academy at QPR before moving to Liverpool as a 15-year-old. At Anfield, he quickly established himself as one of the league’s outstanding young players before earning a transfer to Manchester City. This move was criticised by the British media, many of whom said he wouldn’t play and was just moving for money. While he is now believed to earn £300,000 a week, no one can deny the move has been a success for both player and club, with Sterling playing a key role in City’s three Premier League title wins under Pep Guardiola.
John Stones
Unsurprisingly also representing Manchester City in this list is John
Stones. The former Barnsley and Everton centre back has steadily built himself
into an England starter after initially struggling in the Premier League. He
made his Barnsley debut in the Championship at just 17 years old before moving
to Goodison Park where his early performances were filled with signs of his
outstanding technical ability as well as his defensive frailty. He signed for
the Citizens in 2016 and has gone from strength to strength under the guidance
of Pep Guardiola. He signed a new contract in August 2021, said to pocket him
£250,000 a week.
Harry
Kane/Marcus Rashford
England captain Harry Kane is surprisingly low on this list with his wages
of £200,000 seeming modest in comparison to some of his international
colleagues, despite having had a more successful career than most of them. This
is further evidence of Tottenham’s notoriously restrictive wage structure that
they are reluctant to break, even for one of the best players in the club’s
history.
Kane’s wage is matched by Manchester
United’s Marcus Rashford, who must count himself lucky to earn as much as
Kane despite being four years younger and having scored a lot fewer goals.