Athletes

The Highest-Paid Premier League Defenders

Virgil Van Dijk is the highest-paid, earning $24 million a year.
Manchester City features five defenders among the highest-paid.

Jun 20, 2024 | 03:38 pm

UPDATED Apr 18, 2025 | 12:06 pm

Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Premier League clubs are worth over $1 billion because of elite players and captivating matches. Although attackers get the most fanfare and highest pay, Premier League defenders can earn substantial wages for stopping skillful attackers from scoring.

The highest-paid Premier League defenders earn well over $15 million a year.

Topping the list is Virgil Van Dijk of Liverpool earning $24 million. The captain of the Dutch national team and Liverpool signed a 2-year, $48 million deal in April after much speculation of his future at the club.

Two players are tied for second: Reece James of Chelsea and John Stones of Manchester City. Both players bring in $17.2 million.

James has been with Chelsea for all but one year of his career. He won the 2021 Champion’s League title with them. Stones signed a 3-year deal in 2021 that brought him to Manchester City from Everton.

Two players share the fourth spot, earning $13.7 million a year: Joško Gvardiol of Manchester City and Wesley Fofana of Chelsea.

Gvardiol signed a deal with Manchester City in 2023. He’ll make $52 million with them over five years. Chelsea acquired Fofana midway through the 2022-2023 season for a 6-year, $62.4 million deal.

Even though Chelsea has two defenders among the top five highest-paid, Manchester City has the most of any club with five in the top 15.

Ranking The Highest-Paid Defenders in The Premier League

Here is the entire list of the highest-paid Premier League defenders. The list was compiled with data from Capology.

Updated: April 18, 2025

Rank	Player	Team	Total Compensation
1	Virgil van Dijk	Liverpool	$24 million
T-2	Reece James	Chelsea	$17.2 million
T-2	John Stones	Manchester City	$17.2 million
T-4	Joško Gvardiol	Manchester City	$13.7 million
T-4	Wesley Fofana	Chelsea	$13.7 million
6	Matthijs de Ligt	Manchester United	$13.4 million
T-7	Harry Maguire	Manchester United	$13.1 million
T-7	William Saliba	Arsenal	$13.1 million
T-9	Trent Alexander-Arnold	Liverpool	$12.4 million
T-9	Rúben Dias	Manchester City	$12.4 million
T-9	Manuel Akanji	Manchester City	$12.4 million
12	Marc Cucurella	Chelsea	$12 million
13	Cristian Romero	Tottenham	$11.3 million
T-14	Andy Robertson	Liverpool	$10.99 million
T-14	Nathan Aké	Manchester City	$10.99 million
T-16	Ben White	Arsenal	$10.3 million
T-16	Luke Shaw	Manchester United	$10.3 million
T-16	Oleksandr Zinchenko	Arsenal	$10.3 million
19	Noussair Mazaroui	Manchester United	$9.3 million
T-20	Tosin Adarabioyo	Chelsea	$8.2 million
T-20	Lucas Digne	Aston Villa	$8.2 million
T-20	Victor Lindelöf	Manchester United	$8.2 million
T-20	Lisandro Martinez	Manchester United	$8.2 million
T-20	Kieran Trippier	Newcastle United	$8.2 million
T-20	Riccardo Calafiori	Arsenal	$8.2 million