PREMIER LEAGUE · 2018/19 · ARCHIVE
Chelsea 2018/19 - player wages
Wages as they stood in 2018/19 · top earner Gonzalo Higuaín on £303,000 per week · see the current Chelsea wage bill
WEEKLY WAGE BILL £2.7m
YEARLY WAGE BILL £141m
SQUAD SIZE65
AVERAGE WEEKLY, 22+ £110k
Then and now
Chelsea pay £2,466,884 a week in 2026/27 — 9% lower than the £2,711,665 of 2018/19.
Where the money went in 2018/19
Share of the weekly wage bill by position group · 15 players cover two groups and are counted half in each
2018/19 squad salaries
| Watch | PLAYER | WEEKLY ▼ | YEARLY | AGE | POSITION | NATION | EXPIRES | COMPARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzalo Higuaín | £303,000 | £15,756,000 | 30 | Striker | Argentina | JUN 2019 | ||
| N'Golo Kanté | £290,000 | £15,080,000 | 27 | Defensive midfielder | France | JUN 2023 | ||
| Eden Hazard | £224,000 | £11,648,000 | 27 | Attacking midfielder | Belgium | JUN 2020 | ||
| Kepa Arrizabalaga | £153,000 | £7,956,000 | 23 | Goalkeeper | Spain | JUN 2025 | ||
| César Azpilicueta | £150,000 | £7,800,000 | 28 | Defender | Spain | JUN 2022 | ||
| David Luiz | £126,000 | £6,552,000 | 31 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Brazil | JUN 2019 | ||
| Danny Drinkwater | £120,000 | £6,240,000 | 28 | Central midfielder | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Willian | £120,000 | £6,240,000 | 29 | Attacking midfielder | Brazil | JUN 2020 | ||
| Jorginho | £110,000 | £5,720,000 | 26 | Defensive midfielder | Italy | JUN 2023 | ||
| Olivier Giroud | £110,000 | £5,720,000 | 31 | Striker | France | JUN 2019 | ||
| Mateo Kovacic | £107,000 | £5,564,000 | 24 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | Croatia | JUN 2019 | ||
| Marcos Alonso | £100,000 | £5,200,000 | 27 | Left-back, left midfielder | Spain | JUN 2023 | ||
| Antonio Rüdiger | £100,000 | £5,200,000 | 25 | Centre-back | Germany | JUN 2022 | ||
| Pedro | £100,000 | £5,200,000 | 30 | Attacking midfielder | Spain | JUN 2020 | ||
| Ross Barkley | £100,000 | £5,200,000 | 24 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Andreas Christensen | £83,000 | £4,316,000 | 22 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Denmark | JUN 2022 | ||
| Gary Cahill | £81,000 | £4,212,000 | 32 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2019 | ||
| Davide Zappacosta | £72,000 | £3,744,000 | 26 | Right-back, right midfielder | Italy | JUN 2021 | ||
| Ruben Loftus-Cheek | £53,000 | £2,756,000 | 22 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2021 | ||
| Emerson | £44,000 | £2,288,000 | 23 | Full-back | Italy | JUN 2022 | ||
| Marco van Ginkel | £27,000 | £1,404,000 | 25 | Attacking midfielder | Holland | JUN 2020 | ||
| Willy Caballero | £26,000 | £1,352,000 | 36 | Goalkeeper | Argentina | JUN 2019 | ||
| Robert Green | £23,000 | £1,196,000 | 38 | Goalkeeper | England | JUN 2019 | ||
| Callum Hudson-Odoi | £12,000 | £624,000 | 17 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2020 | ||
| Jamal Blackman | £12,000 | £624,000 | 24 | Goalkeeper | England | JUN 2021 | ||
| Ethan Ampadu | £8,300 | £431,600 | 17 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Wales | JUN 2023 | ||
| Iké Ugbo | £5,100 | £265,200 | 19 | Winger, striker | England | JUN 2021 | ||
| Billy Gilmour | £4,500 | £234,000 | 17 | Attacking midfielder | Scotland | JUN 2021 | ||
| Charlie Brown | £3,400 | £176,800 | 18 | Striker | England | JUN 2021 | ||
| Daishawn Redan | £3,400 | £176,800 | 17 | Striker | Holland | JUN 2021 | ||
| George McEachran | £3,200 | £166,400 | 17 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2019 | ||
| Joseph Colley | £3,100 | £161,200 | 19 | Centre-back | Sweden | JUN 2019 | ||
| Juan Familia-Castillo | £3,100 | £161,200 | 18 | Left-back, left winger | Holland | JUN 2019 | ||
| Kyle Scott | £3,000 | £156,000 | 20 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | U.S.A. | JUN 2019 | ||
| Marc Guéhi | £2,900 | £150,800 | 17 | Defender | England | JUN 2020 | ||
| Marcin Bulka | £2,900 | £150,800 | 18 | Goalkeeper | Poland | JUN 2019 | ||
| Ruben Sammut | £2,700 | £140,400 | 20 | Defensive midfielder | Scotland | JUN 2019 | ||
| Conor Gallagher | £2,400 | £124,800 | 18 | Defensive midfielder | England | JUN 2021 | ||
| Jack Wakely | £2,100 | £109,200 | 17 | Centre-back | England | MAY 2019 | ||
| Jamie Cumming | £2,100 | £109,200 | 18 | Goalkeeper | England | JUN 2021 | ||
| Luke McCormick | £2,000 | £104,000 | 19 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2020 | ||
| Martell Taylor-Crossdale | £1,900 | £98,800 | 18 | Striker | England | JUN 2019 | ||
| Richard Nartey | £1,700 | £88,400 | 19 | Defender | England | JUN 2019 | ||
| Tariq Uwakwe | £1,600 | £83,200 | 18 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2019 | ||
| Clinton Mola | £1,400 | £72,800 | 17 | Left-back, defensive midfielder | England | JUN 2020 | ||
| Jonathan Russell | £1,100 | £57,200 | 17 | Defensive midfielder | England | JUN 2020 | ||
| Nicolas Tié | £900 | £46,800 | 17 | Goalkeeper | Côte d’Ivoire | JUN 2021 | ||
| Marcel Lavinier | £480 | £24,960 | 17 | Defender | Portugal | JUN 2021 | ||
| Renedi Masampu | £430 | £22,360 | 18 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2019 | ||
| Tariq Lamptey | £410 | £21,320 | 17 | Full-back, right midfielder | England | JUN 2020 | ||
| Aleksi Heino | £145 | £7,540 | 9 | Winger, striker | Finland | JUN 2023 | ||
| Dynel Simeu | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2021 | ||
| George Nunn | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Winger, striker | England | JUN 2021 | ||
| Faustino Anjorin | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2021 | ||
| Marcel Lewis | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2021 | ||
| Pierre Ekwah | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | France | JUN 2021 | ||
| Armando Broja | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Striker | England | JUN 2020 | ||
| Henry Lawrence | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Defensive midfielder | England | JUN 2020 | ||
| Ethan Wady | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Goalkeeper | U.S.A. | JUN 2020 | ||
| Thierno Ballo | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Attacking midfielder, striker | Austria | JUN 2021 | ||
| Jake Askew | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Goalkeeper | England | JUN 2020 | ||
| Jordan Aina | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Defender | England | JUN 2020 | ||
| James Clark | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Right-back, right winger | England | JUN 2020 | ||
| Ian Maatsen | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Left-back | Holland | JUN 2021 | ||
| Sam McClelland | £100 | £5,200 | 16 | Centre-back | N.Ireland | JUN 2020 | ||
Wage vs age, 2018/19
Each dot is a player - top-left is expensive and young
£303k £200k £100k 0
1722273136
AGE
Squad wage pyramid
Players per wage band in the 2018/19 squad, against the share of the bill they took
PLAYERS WEEKLY WAGE SHARE OF BILL
19 Under £1k 0%
5 £1k-£2k 0%
14 £2k-£5k 2%
2 £5k-£10k 0%
3 £10k-£25k 2%
7 £25k-£100k 14%
15 £100k+
82%
Top 5 earners took 41% of the squad wage bill, across the 65 players we hold a 2018/19 wage for.
Contract expiries
When the 2018/19 deals were due to run out
Frequently asked questions
Chelsea wages, 2018/19
What was Chelsea's wage bill in 2018/19?
Chelsea paid £2,711,665 a week in 2018/19 - £141,006,580 across the year - spread over a squad of 65. We hold a wage for all 65 players in that squad.
Who was the highest paid Chelsea player in 2018/19?
Gonzalo Higuaín was the highest earner in the 2018/19 squad on £303,000 a week, 2.8x the 22+ squad average of £109,750.
What was the average Chelsea salary in 2018/19?
The average Chelsea player aged 22 or over earned £109,750 a week in 2018/19, across the 24 we hold a wage for, against a squad of 65. The top five earners took 41% of the bill between them.
How do Chelsea's 2018/19 wages compare with now?
Chelsea pay £2,466,884 a week in 2026/27, 9% lower than the £2,711,665 of 2018/19. The current squad is 66 players against 65 then.