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CHAMPIONSHIP · MIDFIELDERS · 2026/27

Highest paid Championship midfielders

Kalvin Phillips is the best-paid midfielder in the Championship, on £165,000 a week at Sheffield United, or £8,580,000 a year. James Ward-Prowse is next on £125,000 at Southampton. We hold wages for 336 Championship midfielders in 2026/27.

BEST PAID £165k
AVERAGE WAGE £20,131
SHARE OF WAGE BILL19%
TOP 10 A WEEK £779k
WAGES HELD336

The 50 best-paid Championship midfielders

Weekly wage, 2026/27. A player who plays in two areas of the pitch is on both lists, at the full wage.

The best-paid midfielders in the Championship in 2026/27, ranked by weekly wage, with the yearly wage, club, age, position and nationality.
# PLAYER WEEKLY YEARLY CLUB AGE POSITION NATION
1 Kalvin Phillips £165,000£165k £8,580,000£8.6m Sheffield United 29 Defensive midfielder England
2 James Ward-Prowse £125,000£125k £6,500,000£6.5m Southampton 30 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder England
3 Edson Álvarez £100,000£100k £5,200,000£5.2m West Ham United 27 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Mexico
4 Tomáš Soucek £87,000£87k £4,524,000£4.5m West Ham United 30 Defensive midfielder Czechia
5 André £68,000£68k £3,536,000£3.5m Wolverhampton Wanderers 23 Defensive midfielder Brazil
6 Hamza Choudhury £56,000£56k £2,912,000£2.9m Sheffield United 27 Full-back, defensive midfielder Bangladesh
7 Jackson Tchatchoua £50,000£50k £2,600,000£2.6m Wolverhampton Wanderers 23 Right-back, right midfielder Cameroon
8 Ben Johnson £43,000£43k £2,236,000£2.2m Stoke City 25 Full-back, right midfielder England
9 Soungountou Magassa £43,000£43k £2,236,000£2.2m West Ham United 21 Centre-back, defensive midfielder France
10 Tommy Doyle £42,000£42k £2,184,000£2.2m Wolverhampton Wanderers 23 Defensive midfielder England
11 Marshall Munetsi £39,000£39k £2,028,000£2.0m Wolverhampton Wanderers 29 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Zimbabwe
12 Boubacar Traoré £38,000£38k £1,976,000£2.0m Wolverhampton Wanderers 23 Defensive midfielder Mali
13 Edoardo Bove £36,000£36k £1,872,000£1.9m Watford 23 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Italy
14 Bright Osayi-Samuel £35,000£35k £1,820,000£1.8m Birmingham City 27 Right-back, wide midfielder Nigeria
15 Tariq Lamptey £35,000£35k £1,820,000£1.8m Queens Park Rangers 24 Full-back, right midfielder Ghana
16 Lewis O'Brien £33,000£33k £1,716,000£1.7m Wrexham 26 Defensive midfielder England
17 Calum Chambers £32,000£32k £1,664,000£1.7m Cardiff City 30 Centre-back, defensive midfielder England
18 Flynn Downes £32,000£32k £1,664,000£1.7m Southampton 26 Defensive midfielder England
19 Josh Cullen £30,000£30k £1,560,000£1.6m Burnley 29 Defensive midfielder Ireland
20 Liberato Cacace £29,000£29k £1,508,000£1.5m Wrexham 24 Left-back, left midfielder New Zealand
21 Alfie Doughty £28,000£28k £1,456,000£1.5m Millwall 25 Full-back, defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder England
22 Ben Pearson £28,000£28k £1,456,000£1.5m Stoke City 30 Defensive midfielder England
23 Arne Engels £28,000£28k £1,456,000£1.5m West Ham United 21 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Belgium
24 Caspar Jander £27,000£27k £1,404,000£1.4m Southampton 22 Defensive midfielder Germany
25 Hugo Bueno £26,000£26k £1,352,000£1.4m Wolverhampton Wanderers 22 Left-back, left midfielder Spain
26 Lewis Travis £25,000£25k £1,300,000£1.3m Derby County 27 Defensive midfielder England
27 Sam Byram £25,000£25k £1,300,000£1.3m Middlesbrough 31 Defender, right midfielder England
28 Kenny McLean £25,000£25k £1,300,000£1.3m Norwich City 33 Defensive midfielder Scotland
29 Martín Payero £25,000£25k £1,300,000£1.3m Watford 26 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Argentina
30 Florentino Luís £23,000£23k £1,196,000£1.2m Burnley 25 Defensive midfielder Portugal
31 Paik Seung-Ho £22,000£22k £1,144,000£1.1m Birmingham City 28 Defensive midfielder South Korea
32 Josh Laurent £22,000£22k £1,144,000£1.1m Burnley 30 Centre-back, defensive midfielder England
33 Aidan Morris £21,000£21k £1,092,000£1.1m Middlesbrough 23 Defensive midfielder United States
34 Ladislav Krejcí £21,000£21k £1,092,000£1.1m Wolverhampton Wanderers 26 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Czechia
35 Justin Devenny £20,000£20k £1,040,000£1.0m Stoke City 21 Left wing-back, defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Northern Ireland
36 Joe Rothwell £19,000£19k £988,000£988k Sheffield United 30 Defensive midfielder England
37 Alex Mowatt £18,000£18k £936,000£936k Derby County 30 Defensive midfielder England
38 Alfie Jones £18,000£18k £936,000£936k Middlesbrough 27 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Canada
39 Stephen Eustáquio £18,000£18k £936,000£936k Swansea City 28 Defensive midfielder Canada
40 Ben Sheaf £18,000£18k £936,000£936k Wrexham 27 Centre-back, defensive midfielder England
41 Tomoki Iwata £17,000£17k £884,000£884k Birmingham City 28 Defensive midfielder Japan
42 Marc Leonard £17,000£17k £884,000£884k Birmingham City 23 Defensive midfielder Scotland
43 Max Johnston £17,000£17k £884,000£884k Derby County 21 Right-back, central midfielder Scotland
44 Casper De Norre £17,000£17k £884,000£884k Millwall 28 Defensive midfielder Belgium
45 Jonathan Varane £17,000£17k £884,000£884k Queens Park Rangers 23 Defensive midfielder Martinique
46 Ben Whiteman £17,000£17k £884,000£884k Wrexham 29 Defensive midfielder England
47 Bosun Lawal £16,000£16k £832,000£832k Stoke City 22 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Ireland
48 Edo Kayembe £16,000£16k £832,000£832k Watford 27 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Congo - Kinshasa
49 George Dobson £16,000£16k £832,000£832k Wrexham 27 Defensive midfielder England
50 Taylor Gardner-Hickman £15,000£15k £780,000£780k Birmingham City 23 Right-back, defensive midfielder England

What each position earns in the Championship

Average weekly wage of the players aged 22 or over we hold a wage for

Goalkeepers £14k Defenders £18k Midfielders £20k Attackers £19k

Midfielders take 19% of what the Championship pays its players of that age. The four shares add up to the whole bill, because a player who plays in two areas gives half the wage to each.

The clubs that pay their midfielders the most

Every midfielder wage we hold at each Championship club, added together, a week

Wolverhampton Wanderers £305k West Ham United £279k Sheffield United £277k Southampton £194k Wrexham £146k Birmingham City £132k Stoke City £120k Watford £114k Middlesbrough £95k Derby County £92k

Wolverhampton Wanderers pay 17 midfielders £304,670 a week between them, and André takes 22% of it.

The best-paid midfielder at every Championship club

24 clubs, 2026/27, with where each ranks among the league's midfielders

Each Championship club's best-paid midfielder in 2026/27, the weekly wage, and that player's rank among every midfielder in the league.
CLUB PLAYER WEEKLY RANK
Sheffield United Kalvin Phillips £165,000£165k 1
Southampton James Ward-Prowse £125,000£125k 2
West Ham United Edson Álvarez £100,000£100k 3
Wolverhampton Wanderers André £68,000£68k 5
Stoke City Ben Johnson £43,000£43k 8
Watford Edoardo Bove £36,000£36k 13
Birmingham City Bright Osayi-Samuel £35,000£35k 14
Queens Park Rangers Tariq Lamptey £35,000£35k 15
Wrexham Lewis O'Brien £33,000£33k 16
Cardiff City Calum Chambers £32,000£32k 17
Burnley Josh Cullen £30,000£30k 19
Millwall Alfie Doughty £28,000£28k 21
Middlesbrough Sam Byram £25,000£25k 27
Derby County Lewis Travis £25,000£25k 26
Norwich City Kenny McLean £25,000£25k 28
Swansea City Stephen Eustáquio £18,000£18k 39
Portsmouth John Swift £15,000£15k 52
Charlton Athletic Nathaniel Chalobah £14,000£14k 55
Bristol City Adam Randell £14,000£14k 54
Preston North End Alfie Devine £13,000£13k 66
West Bromwich Albion Jayson Molumby £12,000£12k 73
Lincoln City Yunus Emre Konak £10,000£10k 79
Blackburn Rovers Adam Forshaw £8,500£9k 84
Bolton Wanderers Josh Sheehan £8,100£8k 88

The best-paid midfielder in every men's league

43 leagues, ordered by their best-paid midfielder. The Championship ranks tenth.

The best-paid midfielder in each men's league we rank midfielders in, the weekly wage, and the league's average midfielder wage over players aged 22 or over.
LEAGUE BEST PAID WEEKLY AVERAGE
Saudi Pro League Otávio £472,000£472k £49,687£50k
Süper Lig N'Golo Kanté £348,000£348k £21,488£21k
Bundesliga Joshua Kimmich £315,000£315k £39,483£39k
Premier League Bruno Fernandes £300,000£300k £76,710£77k
Major League Soccer Casemiro £300,000£300k £11,731£12k
Ligue 1 Marquinhos £279,000£279k £30,015£30k
La Liga Trent Alexander-Arnold £249,000£249k £40,838£41k
Serie A John Stones £200,000£200k £44,528£45k
Primeira Liga João Palhinha £199,000£199k £11,158£11k
Championship Kalvin Phillips £165,000£165k £20,131£20k
Croatian First League Ismaël Bennacer £117,000£117k £4,206£4k
Brasileirão Série A Arthur £99,000£99k £10,842£11k
Eredivisie Lutsharel Geertruida £99,000£99k £9,142£9k
2. Bundesliga Maximilian Arnold £74,000£74k £11,170£11k
Russian Premier League Wendel £71,000£71k £16,664£17k
Liga MX Carlos Gruezo £64,000£64k £6,811£7k
League One Boubakary Soumaré £58,000£58k £6,405£6k
Serie B Ali Al Musrati £55,000£55k £8,344£8k
La Liga 2 Donny van de Beek £54,000£54k £5,199£5k
Super Liga Leandro Paredes £44,000£44k £4,100£4k
Chinese Super League Ibrahim Amadou £42,000£42k £5,544£6k
Scottish Premiership Callum McGregor £39,000£39k £5,790£6k
J1 League Oriol Romeu £35,000£35k £4,063£4k
Danish Superliga Philip Billing £35,000£35k £7,123£7k
Superleague Greece Christos Zafeiris £33,000£33k £7,533£8k
Czech First League Sivert Mannsverk £33,000£33k £2,010£2k
Belgian Pro League László Bénes £25,000£25k £6,702£7k
Ekstraklasa Karol Linetty £25,000£25k £3,410£3k
Ligue 2 Ibou Sissoko £21,000£21k £4,966£5k
Austrian Bundesliga Bendegúz Bolla £20,000£20k £3,500£4k
Belgian Challenger Pro League Mats Rits £16,000£16k £2,048£2k
Eliteserien Hrannar Snær Magnússon £13,000£13k £2,231£2k
League Two Joe Williams £12,000£12k £2,560£3k
Categoría Primera A Élan Ricardo £11,000£11k £3,852£4k
Thai League Roque Mesa £8,000£8k £2,247£2k
Indian Super League Lalengmawia £5,500£6k £707£707
Veikkausliiga Alexander Ring £4,500£5k £708£708
Scottish Championship Graeme Shinnie £4,200£4k £907£907
National League Jake Rooney £4,100£4k £1,293£1k
A-League Jake Girdwood-Reich £4,100£4k £1,219£1k
I-League Jordi Altena £3,100£3k £364£364
Canadian Premier League Manuel Aparicio £810£810 £458£458
Meistriliiga Modou Tambedou £484£484 £161£161

Frequently asked questions

Who is the highest paid midfielder in the Championship?

Kalvin Phillips of Sheffield United, on £165,000 a week in 2026/27, or £8,580,000 a year. James Ward-Prowse of Southampton is second on £125,000 a week.

How much do Championship midfielders earn?

The average Championship midfielder aged 22 or over earns £20,131 a week, and the median one £14,000. Midfielders take 19% of what the Championship pays its players of that age.

Which Championship club pays its midfielders the most?

Wolverhampton Wanderers, £304,670 a week across the 17 midfielders we hold a wage for, led by André on £68,000.

Who is the highest paid midfielder in football?

Of the 43 men's leagues we rank midfielders in, the best-paid is Otávio of Al-Qadsiah Football Club in the Saudi Pro League, on £472,000 a week. The best-paid in the Championship ranks tenth of the 43 leagues on that measure.

Where to next

The same Championship squads, cut a different way

See the highest paid Championship players in every position, the best-paid player at every club, what Championship players are paid at every age, or the Championship wage bill, club by club.