The Stamford Bridge club have spent more than half a billion on transfer fees and that investment has also led to them topping the Premier League wage bill as they overtake Manchester United

Enzo Fernandez and Benoit Badiashile are two of 16 players to have joined Chelsea since last summer.

Chelsea’s wage bill for a disastrous season in which they will finish in the bottom half of the Premier League table is estimated to have cost £215.6m

And that figure translates to almost one-eighth of the entire division’s obscene wage spend of £1.9billion, which in itself is a 6% rise compared to last season.

Manchester United, who did get Cristiano Ronaldo ’s £380,000-per-week salary off the books in January, placed second on a table compiled by the sport investment fund Alliance, with a total spend of £213.3m. But that was down 10% compared to their wage bill last season.

Champions Manchester City, who last weekend sealed a fifth title in six years, were third with an outlay of £186.2m.

Liverpool, whose form has improved greatly following a dismal opening few months to the campaign, were fourth with £164.6m, followed by Arsenal ’s £110.4m just ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in sixth on £110.2m.

On the flip side, two of the season’s success stories had the two smallest wage bills. Brentford, who are guaranteed a top-half finish but could end up in seventh by full-time in Sunday evening’s games, have spent only £33.5m.

And Brighton, who have qualified for Europe despite losing the head coach they began the campaign with and star Leandro Trossard in January, had the second smallest outlay on £41.7m.

Alliance also compared clubs’ salaries compared to a year previous, with newly-promoted Nottingham Forest showing the sharpest rise of a remarkable 230% (£22.4m to £74.1m).

Fulham ’s spend rose from £42.1m to £54.4m and Bournemouth, whose new owners spent about £50m in the January window to help ensure their top-flight status, jumped 30% from £35.7m to £46.5m.

Everton’s wage bill has had the biggest decrease compared to last season – and they are now heading for a final-day battle to survive. ( Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Relegation-threatened Everton, meanwhile, saw the biggest decrease in wage spend, falling 26% to £110m to £81.5m. Brazilian forward Richarlison left for Tottenham last summer, with winger Anthony Gordon controversially forcing his way to Newcastle in January.

But their candidates for the drop Leeds United saw their wage bill rise 51% from £37.3m to £56.4m despite selling top earners Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips to Barcelona and Manchester City.

Premier League wage bill table 2022-23

Total annual payroll

1. Chelsea – £216,644,000

2. Manchester United – £213,330,000

3. Manchester City – £186,160,000

4. Liverpool – £164,580,000

5. Arsenal – £110,396,000

6. Tottenham Hotspur – £110,240,000

7. Aston Villa – £91,670,000

8. West Ham United – £84,500,000

9. Newcastle United – £81,562,000

10. Everton – £81,536,000

11. Leicester City – £79,820,000

12. Nottingham Forest – £74,150,000

13. Crystal Palace – £68,120,000

14. Southampton – £62,296,000

15. Wolverhampton Wanderers – £61,256,000

16. Leeds United – £56,420,000

17. Fulham – £54,400,000

18. Bournemouth – £46,488,000

19. Brighton & Hove Albion – £41,756,000

20. Brentford – £33,540,000

Source: Alliance

Chelsea ’s wage bill remarkably remains less than Paris Saint-Germain’s estimated £300m, Real Madrid ’s £253m and Barcelona’s £230m. Bayern Munich’s wage bill is estimated to be about £220m, while Juventus lead the table in Serie A with £141m.

The Stamford Bridge club have spent about £530m on transfer fees since their change of ownership last summer, with 16 players arriving across two windows. Many of those have been placed on unusually long contracts to spread the repayment of fees.

But the cost to the wage bill remains significant and they are now expected to have a clear out with Mauricio Pochettino expected to take charge as head coach ahead of next season.

Source: mirror.co.uk