How much Shaun Wright-Phillips used to earn at QPR - It's over x3 what Koko Saito earns | OneFootball

Koki Saito is QPR's estimated third-highest paid player, yet Shaun Wright-Phillips earned triple that in the Championship

It's well-known that QPR broke spending limits en route to their promotion back to the Premier League in the 2013/14 campaign.

Tony Fernandes and co had invested a lot of money to try and keep the Hoops in the top flight, so when they were relegated after a couple of years in the Premier League, they were immediately in some hot water regarding their finances.

Their wages that season totalled more than £75 million, which made up 195% of their turnover of £38.6 million. To put that into perspective, since 2022, clubs competing in UEFA competitions have been capped at just 70% of their spending in comparison to their revenue.

QPR settled that issue in 2018, but it's always interesting to look back to just over a decade ago to see how much the players at Loftus Road were on each week, and compare them to the current squad.

How much Shaun Wright-Phillips made in 2013 compared to Koki Saito in 2025

Shaun Wright-Phillips spent both seasons in the Premier League with QPR, but he made just 11 Championship appearances in the 2013/14 campaign. His career was winding down at the time, but having spent time on the books at Chelsea and Manchester City, his wage at Loftus Road reflected that.

Koki Saito is arguably Julien Stephan's first-choice option on the left wing now that he is a permanent member of the R's squad, and his wage reflects that, too.

Saito is the third-highest paid player at Loftus Road currently, according to Capology's estimations, bringing in £20,000 per week.

Wright-Phillips, on the other hand, was earning a whopping £65,000 per week, the joint-highest in the QPR squad along with Joey Barton, and the highest in the entire Championship, according to Capology, during the 2013/14 campaign.

Even a decade on, £65,000 per week puts you inside the top seven highest earners in the division, which shows how much money was put into that QPR squad under Harry Redknapp.

Shaun Wright-Phillips didn't earn much of his £65,000 per week wage in his latter years at QPR

Despite being a big signing at the time, Wright-Phillips didn't showcase any of his former Premier League quality during his brief time in the Championship during the 2013/14 campaign.

He did play a part in an opening eight-game run where QPR won six times, assisting in a 1-0 win over Birmingham City, but after that, his time in the side was limited.

He turned 32 during October of that season, and from that point on played just three league games, and none in their eventual play-off winning run, before playing just five times the following campaign ahead of a move to the MLS.

Saito is already a fan favourite at Loftus Road, and has scored more goals for QPR than the former England international did. Despite the fun times had on the pitch during the early 2010s, QPR fans will likely associate the current squad with more positivity in comparison to the side that plunged them into financial difficulty.

And who knows? Maybe it won't be long until the Hoops can afford to pay their top players upwards of £50/60,000 per week once more, as a solid run has QPR fans dreaming of the play-offs, but they'll have to make sure they can afford to do so if they do.