How much money Matheus Pereira earned during his time at West Brom | OneFootball

The Brazilian playmaker was a class act during his time at The Hawthorns

Matheus Pereira is still remembered fondly by West Bromwich Albion supporters for his starring role in the club's return to the Premier League under Slaven Bilic.

After suffering relegation from the top flight under Darren Moore in 2018, the Baggies' hopes of a first-time promotion were dashed after a seriously inconsistent pattern of results at the turn of 2019 as the former defender was sacked and replaced by Jimmy Shan until the end of the campaign.

Following a penalty shootout defeat to local rivals Aston Villa in the play-off semi-finals, plenty of change was on the agenda at The Hawthorns, with Bilic becoming head coach on a two-year contract in June 2019, with the Croatian making plenty of additions to a new-look Albion squad as plenty of experienced players were sold or departed at the conclusion of their respective contracts.

Among the 10 signings across the summer was the aforementioned Pereira, who joined on an initial loan deal from Liga Portugal giants, Sporting CP after making 27 appearances for the Lisbon-based side.

With that in mind, Football League World takes a look at the financial side of the Brazilian's time in the West Midlands, which lasted just two years.

It was reported by Birmingham Live that West Brom had paid the Portuguese side a loan fee of £750,000, with the initial temporary move having the view to a permanent switch at the conclusion of the 2019/20 season.

Estimated figures from Capology state that during his first season in Blue and White, which would end with eight goals and a sensational tally of 20 assists, Pereira was extremely low down the payroll in B71, earning just £5,962 per week and £310,000 across the 46-game season as Albion were eventually promoted on the final night of the stop-start campaign, finishing on 83 points - two clear of Brentford.

The nature of the campaign as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that Albion returned to competitive action on June 20th in a West Midlands derby against Birmingham City, and by featuring in the goalless draw, it was reported that an overall £9m sum - including the aforementioned loan fee - would be paid to keep Pereira at the club heading into 2020/21.

Having won the club's Player's Player of the Season award, his permanent switch was confirmed in August 2020, and he would see an extremely minor increase in salary, with Capology stating that the playmaker earned £6,000 per week and £312,000 for the season as a whole.

This means that during his two-year stint, which ended in August 2021 after Albion returned to the Championship, Pereira cost £622,000 in wages.

Matheus Pereira provided plenty of iconic moments in a West Brom shirt

Despite the fact the explosive and dynamic playmaker moved to the Saudi Pro League, where he was said to earn a reported annual fee of £4m in wages, he was still able to provide an array of iconic moments for the Albion faithful.

This included a hat-trick of assists in a 5-1 rout against Swansea City at The Hawthorns just months after signing, before doing the same again against Hull City after 'Project Restart'.

However, even in a dismal Premier League season which saw Bilic sacked and replaced by Sam Allardyce, Pereira was still able to step up to the mark with 11 goals and six assists, which included a double from the penalty spot to help secure a 3-2 win in the Black Country Derby against Wolves at Molineux and yet another brace in a remarkable 5-2 success over eventual UEFA Champions League winners, Chelsea.

Pereira initially struggled after his departure from English football, but now looks to have restored his confidence, which was echoed by his first-ever call-up to the Brazilian national team, as the Cruzeiro man replaced West Ham's Lucas Paqueta for a 12-minute cameo against Peru in November.