In the summer of 2021, Manchester United welcomed the return of yearly hero Cristiano Ronaldo after many years of playing for Real Madrid and Juventus with a contract that made him the highest paid player of the 2021/22 season with a £480,000 per week.

That may be a surprising number for many people because Ronaldo was then said to be past his prime. However, the amount of money another former Real star received shocked everyone. Gareth Bale left Los Blancos to play for Tottenham Hotspur on a loan contract with a salary of up to £560,000 per week.

However, the majority of that salary is said to be paid by his parent club Real Madrid. Above all, Bale’s performance when returning to his old team was also quite good, as he contributed 11 goals in 20 matches for Spurs.

With both Bale and Ronaldo no longer playing in the Premier League, Kevin De Bruyne has become the highest paid player in both last and current seasons. The Manchester City midfielder is said to be earning £400,000 per week, 40 times more than John Barnes – the highest paid person in the first Premier League season.

According to data from the Mirror, Liverpool paid Barnes a weekly salary of £10,000 during the 1992/93 season. Four years later, Fabrizio Ravanelli received the highest salary in the league at £42,000 per week in his only season at Middlesbrough.

Roy Keane is also on this list when he had 4 seasons leading the Premier League in terms of salary. Specifically, the former Man United star earned £52,000 per week in the 1999/00 and 2000/21 seasons, then increased to £90,000 per week in the 2001/22 season and finally £94,000 per week in the 2002 season. /03.

Steven Gerrard then increased this figure to £100,000 in the 2005/06 season after signing a new contract with Liverpool to end interest from Chelsea.

Carlos Tevez’s move to Man City in 2010 saw the Argentine striker earn £250,000 a week and top the list until 2013.

After Tevez left to move to Juventus, Wayne Rooney replaced him as the highest paid person. Man United then paid the England captain £300,000 per week for his final four years at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils continued their massive salary policy by allowing Alexis Sanchez and David de Gea to receive £350,000 and £375,000 respectively over the next three seasons, putting them at the top of the list before Bale returned to Tottenham.

The following is a list of players with the highest salary each season in the Premier League:

• 1992/93: John Barnes – £10,000 per week
• 1993/94: John Barnes – £10,000 per week
• 1994/95: Eric Cantona – £18,000 per week
• 1995/96: Dennis Bergkamp – £25,000 per week
• 1996/97: Fabrizio Ravanelli – £42,000 per week
• 1997/98: Alan Shearer – £34,000 per week
• 1998/99: Alan Shearer – £34,000 per week
• 1999/00: Roy Keane – £52,000 per week
• 2000/01: Roy Keane – £52,000 per week
• 2001/02: Roy Keane – £90,000 per week
• 2002/03: Roy Keane – £94,000 per week
• 2003/04: Hernan Crespo – £94,000 per week
• 2004/05: Frank Lampard – £98,000 per week
• 2005/06: Steven Gerrard – £100,000 per week
• 2006/07: Andriy Shevchenko – £118,000 per week
• 2007/08: John Terry – £135,000 per week
• 2008/09: Robinho – £160,000 per week
• 2009/10: Carlos Tevez – £250,000 per week
• 2010/11: Carlos Tevez – £250,000 per week
• 2011/12: Carlos Tevez – £250,000 per week
• 2012/13: Carlos Tevez – £250,000 per week
• 2013/14: Wayne Rooney – £300,000 per week
• 2014/15: Wayne Rooney – £300,000 per week
• 2015/16: Wayne Rooney – £300,000 per week
• 2016/17: Wayne Rooney – £300,000 per week
• 2017/18: Alexis Sanchez – £350,000 per week
• 2018/19: Alexis Sanchez – £350,000 per week
• 2019/20: David de Gea – £375,000 per week
• 2020/21: Gareth Bale – £560,000 per week
• 2021/22: Cristiano Ronaldo – £480,000 per week
• 2022/23: Kevin De Bruyne – £400,000 per week
• 2023/24: Kevin De Bruyne – £400,000 per week