The 10 biggest wage rises for new signings this summer: Watkins, Rodri, Fernandez… | OneFootball

Signing for a new club often means a player is about to see their salary increase, but who has earned the biggest wage rises after transfers this summer?

The top 10 is unsurprisingly dominated by signings in the Premier League, Saudi Pro League and the big two in La Liga.

Here is the full list, with some surprise names dotted amongst the expected ones.

1. Ollie Watkins – £130,000 to £410,618 = £280,618 rise

After six successful years in the Premier League with Aston Villa, Watkins has been tempted away by the riches on offer from Al Hilal.

Watkins has signed a three-year deal in Saudi Arabia, more than trebling his wages in the process.

Despite his importance to Villa, the striker had eight teammates on bigger wages than him last season. Now, he has gone straight in as Al Hilal’s fourth-top earner.

2. Rodri – £220,000 to £444,782 = £224,782 rise

Barcelona have found some new financial freedom this summer, enabling them to sign Rodri in an expensive move from Manchester City.

They’ve also been able to give the midfielder suitably big wages as well, pretty much doubling what City were paying him.

Rodri has become Barca’s highest earner, which is befitting of his status as Spain’s captain and a former Ballon d’Or winner.

3. Elliot Anderson – £40,000 to £250,000 = £210,000 rise

The man who will largely be tasked with replacing Rodri, Anderson became the most expensive Englishman in history when he joined City from Nottingham Forest.

He only retained that status for a couple of weeks, but one thing that won’t be changing for the foreseeable is his pay packet.

Anderson was on £40,000 a week at Forest, but has jumped up to more than six times more than that with his City terms.

Level with Bruno Guimaraes at Arsenal, whose wage rise wasn’t as magnified, Anderson is the highest-paid signing of the summer in the Premier League.

4. Crysencio Summerville – £45,000 to £234,709 = £189,709 rise

Summerville was the centre of a transfer battle after West Ham’s relegation this summer. In the end, Al Hilal blew away his European suitors Roma with a far bigger bid.

They are also paying the Dutch winger a lot more than the Italians presumably would have, and a lot more than West Ham were doing.

Summerville’s salary has increased around five-fold via his move to Saudi Arabia. Sigh.

5. Enzo Fernandez – £180,000 to £350,000 = £170,000 rise

Man City clearly think Fernandez is worth the money, having made him their new record signing to overtake Anderson.

City paid Chelsea £125m for Fernandez on deadline day and, while he wasn’t exactly feeding off scraps at Stamford Bridge, they’ve almost doubled his wages.

Fernandez is now one of the Premier League’s top earners if leaks of a £350,000-a-week salary are accurate.

6. Gabriel Martinelli – £180,000 to £330,646 = £150,646 rise *

Martinelli’s move from Arsenal to Al Hilal is yet to be officially announced, but it should be confirmed some time soon.

The forward has been lured to Saudi Arabia with a huge salary offer, with reports estimating his new earnings to be in the region of €20m per season (which comes out at around £330,000 per week).

7. Marco Palestra – £4,599 to £150,000 = £145,401 rise

Palestra has enjoyed a rapid rise over the past 12 months, as reflected by how his wages have shot up with his move to Chelsea.

Last season, he was on loan at Cagliari from Atalanta. Being voted the best defender in Serie A along the way boosted his profile massively, and Chelsea have given him the salary to show for it.

8. Mateus Fernandes – £60,000 to £200,000 – £140,000 rise

Like Summerville, Fernandes jumped ship at West Ham after their relegation. In his case, it was a second consecutive relegation after going down with Southampton the year before.

Each time Fernandes has come back up to the Premier League with a transfer, there’s been a tidy uptick in his salary. He went from £20,000 a week to £60,000 by leaving Southampton for West Ham, and now his wages have ballooned to £200,000 a week.

9. Francisco Trincao – £64,056 to £201,039 = £136,983 rise

Trincao’s career path has taken another turn with his move to Saudi Arabia. The former Barcelona and Wolves winger signed for Al-Ahli from Sporting CP in July.

He now earns more than £200,000 per week for the first time in his career.

10. Bradley Barcola – £119,408 to £250,000 = £130,592 rise

Despite his obvious quality, Barcola was never the main man for PSG. But he’ll be one of Liverpool’s key players after making his move for a fee of up to £123m.

To reflect his status as one of their most important assets, Liverpool have reportedly given him a £250,000-a-week salary.