Premier League players paid per minute: Aaron Ramsdale the player of value

The salaries in professional top-flight football never cease to amaze anyone who, well, isn’t a professional footballer. 

It is now unsurprising to see a player sign a five-year contract with a club for £150,000-a-week (or more), while youngsters graduating from various academy systems have the potential to pick up thousands of pounds each week despite entering any given season as a fourth-choice squad player.

This got BettingOdds.com thinking about how much money footballers cost their respective clubs on a minute-by-minute basis, and led to us conducting an in-depth study on which players were the most costly, and which were the most cost-effective, based on their weekly salary and how many minutes they played in the Premier League throughout the elongated 2019-20 campaign. 

Below are our findings.

Note: We have reduced yearly salaries for players by the number of weeks of the season they missed through injury, then divided their collective earnings during the course of the campaign by the minutes they played in the Premier League this season.

For players who left or joined Premier League sides in the January window, we have also deducted the weeks they weren’t available either before or after the midseason transfer window. 

Furthermore, no on-loan players have been included in the study as well as back-up goalkeepers who have not made 5 appearances or more.

Highest paid Premier League player per-minute (19-20)

The Premier League’s least cost-effective player last season was Everton striker Oumar Niasse, whose weekly salary of £55,000-a-week cost the Toffees a whopping total of £138,947 per every minute of his services, given the Senegalese forward played just 19 minutes worth of top-flight football.

Niasse endured a torrid end to an extremely underwhelming three-year tenure in Merseyside, where he actually spent more time out on loan to the likes of Hull and Cardiff than playing for his parent club. The 30-year-old is currently a free agent after leaving Goodison Park at the start of July. 

Next on the list is Aston Villa flop Borja Baston. The Spaniard joined Villa from Swansea in January on a free transfer but made just two appearances in the West Midlands before being released by the club on June 25. 

Like Niasse, Baston was picking up a cool £55,000-a-week at Villa Park, and while his time was short it was definitely profitable… for him and him only. Villa shelled out £89,375 for each minute of the 27-year-old’s services (16 minutes in total), where he failed to score or make an assist. 

This next name won’t come as too much of a surprise to anyone. Bournemouth’s dealings with ex-Liverpool winger Jordon Ibe couldn’t have really gone any worse; they signed him for £15m back in 2016 and he only managed to score five goals in 92 appearances on the south coast before being released earlier this summer. 

Last season, Ibe played just 48 minutes of Premier League football as Bournemouth were relegated to Championship, costing the Cherries a whopping 35,156 per minute (no goals or assists), while the 24-year-old’s nightmare spell in Dorset was capped off by him crashing his Bentley into a London coffee shop back in July 2019. Far from ideal. 

Full list of PL’s most-costly players per minute:

• Joao Pedro - £26,136 (Earns £23,000 a week, played 22 minutes in the Premier League)

• Domingos Quina - £23,111 (Earns £8,000 a week, played 18 minutes in the Premier League)

• Michy Batshuayi- £23,009 (Earns £100,000 a week, played 226 minutes in the Premier League)

• Carlos Sanchez - £21,239 (Earned £50,000 a week, played 113 minutes in the Premier League)

• Albian Ajeti - £19,318 (Earned £50,000 a week, played 132 minutes in the Premier League)

• Phil Jones - £18,333 (Earns £75,000 a week, played 135 minutes in the Premier League)

• Eric Bailly - £17,297 (Earns £80,000 a week, played 148 minutes in the Premier League)

Lowest paid Premier League player per minute (19-20)

It’s not all doom and gloom as far as finances are concerned, however. There are also a number of players who proved to be of great value during last season’s Premier League campaign, with the most cost-effective being Bournemouth shot-stopper Aaron Ramsdale. 

The young England prospect was one of the shining lights throughout an otherwise bleak campaign at the Vitality, so much so that Sheffield United have now re-signed him ahead of the 2020-21 season just three years after selling him to the Cherries. 

What is most impressive about Ramsdale, though, is that it worked out that he cost Bournemouth just £46 per every minute of Premier League football he played (3,330 in total) due to his weekly salary of £3000 being substantially lower than most of his peers. Bargain.

Sheffield United’s George Baldock is next in the list, costing the Blades just £61 per minute, while Baldock’s teammate Enda Stevens cost just a pound more at £62 per minute. 

Full list of PL’s least-costly players per minute:

• Aaron Ramsdale - £46 (Earns £3,000 a week, played 3330 minutes in the Premier League)

• George Baldock - £61 (Earns £4,000 a week, played 3420 minutes in the Premier League)

• Enda Stevens - £62 (Earns £4,000 a week, played 3346 minutes in the Premier League)

• Matty Longstaff - £68 (Earned £850 a week, played 572 minutes in the Premier League)

• John Lundstram - £83 (Earns £4,000 a week, played 2455 minutes in the Premier League)

• Chris Basham - £88 (Earns £5,500 a week, played 3255 minutes in the Premier League)

• Bukayo Saka - £89 (Earns £3,000 a week, played 1753 minutes in the Premier League)

• John Egan - £122 (Earns £7,500 a week, played 3189 minutes in the Premier League)

• John Fleck - £146 (Earns £10,000 a week, played 2517 minutes in the Premier League)

• Jack O'Connell - £168 (Earns £10,000 a week, played 2915 minutes in the Premier League)

Highest paid Premier League footballers, per club (per minute, 19-20)

As well as looking into which players were the best and worst when it came to cost-efficiency last season, BettingOdds.com also delved into each individual club to see who proved to be a bargain for their respective clubs, and which players cost them a small (in some cases not-so-small) fortune throughout the duration of the campaign.

Unsurprisingly, a certain Mesut Ozil ranks high up on this list, with the German’s colossal weekly wage packet of £350,000 continuing to provide Stan Kroenke’s pocket with a seemingly irreparable gaping hole. Ozil played just 1,488 minutes of Premier League football last season, costing the Gunners a total of £9,669 every minute. Not sure if the one goal and two assists were really worth it.

Elsewhere, Michy Batshuayi cost Chelsea a gut-wrenching total of £23,009 per minute of action due to the Belgian earning £100,000-a-week and playing just 226 PL minutes, while Phil Jones cost Manchester United £18,333 a minute and Adam Lallana cost Liverpool £15,294.

PL’s most-costly players by club (per minute, 19-20):

• Arsenal - Mesut Ozil, £9,669 Per Minute (Earns £350,000 a week, played 1,488 minutes in the Premier League)

• Aston Villa - Borja Baston, £89,375 Per Minute (Earned £55,000 a week, played 16 minutes in the Premier League)

• Brighton & Hove Albion - Gaeten Bong, £9,210 Per Minute (Earned £20,192 a week, played 57 minutes in the Premier League)

• Burnley - Robbie Brady, £3,811 Per Minute (Earns £35,000 a week, played 450 minutes in the Premier League)

• Chelsea - Michy Batshuayi, £23,009 Per Minute (Earns £100,000 a week, played 226 minutes in the Premier League)

• Crystal Palace - Connor Wickham, £10,667 Per Minute (Earns £60,000 a week, played 90 minutes in the Premier League)

• Everton - Oumar Niasse, £138,947 Per Minute (Earned £55,000 a week, played 19 minutes in the Premier League)

• Leicester City - Nampalys Mendy, £8,935 Per Minute (Earned £50,000 a week, played 291 minutes in the Premier League)

• Liverpool - Adam Lallana, £15,294 Per Minute (Earned £110,000 a week, played 374 minutes in the Premier League)

• Manchester City - Sergio Aguero, £6,322 Per Minute (Earns £230,135 a week, played 1,456 minutes in the Premier League)

• Manchester United - Phil Jones, £18,333 Per Minute (Earns £75,000 a week, played 135 minutes in the Premier League)

• Newcastle United - Yoshinori Muto, £11,739 Per Minute (Earns £54,000 a week, played 207 minutes in the Premier League)

• Norwich City - Josip Drmic, £3,140 Per Minute (Earns £50,000 a week, played 637 minutes in the Premier League)

• Sheffield United - Jack Rodwell, £14,733 Per Minute (Earned £8,500 a week, played 15 minutes in the Premier League)

• Southampton - Sofiane Boufal, £3,849 Per Minute (Earns £65,000 a week, played 760 minutes in the Premier League)

• Tottenham Hotspur - Juan Foyth, £12,053 Per Minute (Earns £21,500 a week, played 66 minutes in the Premier League)

• Watford - Joao Pedro, £26,136 Per Minute (Earns £23,000 a week, played 22 minutes in the Premier League)

• West Ham United - Carlos Sanchez, £21,239 Per Minute (Earned £50,000 a week, played 113 minutes in the Premier League)

• Wolverhampton Wanderers - Morgan Gibbs-White, £8,571 Per Minute (Earns £30,000 a week, played 126 minutes in the Premier League)

PL’s least-costly players by club (per minute, 19-20):

• AFC Bournemouth - Aaron Ramsdale, £46 Per Minute (Earns £3,000 a week, played 3,330 minutes in the Premier League)

• Arsenal - Bukayo Saka, £89 Per Minute (Earns £3,000 a week, played 1,753 minutes in the Premier League)

• Aston Villa - Ezri Konsa, £240 Per Minute (Earns £8,000 a week, played 2,042 minutes in the Premier League)

• Brighton & Hove Albion - Tariq Lamptey, £221 Per Minute (Earns £5,000 a week, played 589 minutes in the Premier League)

• Burnley - Ashley Westwood, £502 Per Minute (Earns £31,000 a week, played 3,150 minutes in the Premier League)

• Chelsea - Fikayo Tomori, £491 Per Minute (Earns £14,423 a week, played 1,293 minutes in the Premier League)

• Crystal Palace - Jordan Ayew, £535 Per Minute (Earns £32,500 a week, played 3,160 minutes in the Premier League)

• Everton - Dominic Calvert-Lewin, £396 Per Minute (Earns £20,000 a week, played 2,629 minutes in the Premier League)

• Leicester City - Harvey Barnes, £249 Per Minute (Earns £10,000 a week, played 2,090 minutes in the Premier League)

• Liverpool - Trent Alexander-Arnold, £642 Per Minute (Earns £40,000 a week, played 3,176 minutes in the Premier League)

• Manchester City - Phil Foden, £700 Per Minute (Earns £12,000 a week, played 892 minutes in the Premier League)

• Manchester United - Brandon Williams, £203 Per Minute (Earns £4,000 a week, played 1,004 minutes in the Premier League)

• Newcastle United - Matty Longstaff, £68 Per Minute (Earned £850 a week, played 572 minutes in the Premier League)

• Norwich City - Max Aarons, £315 Per Minute (Earns £20,000 a week, played 3,240 minutes in the Premier League)

• Sheffield United - George Baldock, £61 Per Minute (Earns £4,000 a week, played 3420 minutes in the Premier League)

• Southampton - Jan Bednarek, £327 Per Minute (Earns £20,000 a week, played 3,058 minutes in the Premier League)

• Tottenham Hotspur - Japhet Tanganga, £437 Per Minute (Earns £5,000 a week, played 526 minutes in the Premier League)

• Watford - Kiko Femenia, £419 Per Minute (Earns £20,000 a week, played 2,241 minutes in the Premier League)

• West Ham United - Declan Rice, £494 Per Minute (Earns £32,500 a week, played 3,420 minutes in the Premier League)

• Wolverhampton Wanderers - Matt Doherty, £180 Per Minute (Earns £10,000 a week, played 2,840 minutes in the Premier League)