William Saliba has committed his future to Arsenal football club until 2027 with a bumper new contract worth £10million a year. The terms do not include an option to extend or a release clause, according to reports.
Saliba was previously earning £2,080,000 a year on his old deal which ran until the summer of 2024 but is now the Gunner’s fourth highest-paid player behind Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus. In the Premier League as a whole, he places 28th for annual earnings ahead of several Chelsea and Manchester United stars. And here, Express Sport counts down six of those he is set to pocket more than next season.
Thiago Silva – £8,580,000
When Saliba was making a name for himself out on loan in Ligue 1 many compared him to Brazilian legend Thiago Silva. Now, he is set to earn more money than him. Silva recently extended his contract at Stamford Bridge for another season and earns £8,580,000 per annum.
Harry Maguire – £8,464,286
Saliba has also signed a more valuable deal than that of Red Devils captain Harry Maguire. Whether the 30-year-old will actually still be contracted to United next season is yet to be seen though. Erik ten Hag is keen on offloading Maguire, Fred, Scott McTominay and Jadon Sancho in the coming weeks to bolster his £120m summer budget.
Kepa Arrizabalaga – £7,800,000
Saliba will earn £2.2m more than Chelsea’s current first-choice goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. The Spaniard hasn’t quite lived up to his lofty expectations since signing for the Blues in 2018 and looks as though he will be replaced between the sticks this summer if Mauricio Pochettino has his way.
Luke Shaw – £7,800,000
Shaw earns the same money but has had a comparably better time in recent years. When fit he is widely considered to be England’s best left-back and has lived up to his £30m price tag and more at Old Trafford.
Lisandro Martinez – £6,240,000
Arsenal made an approach to snap up Lisandro Martinez from Ajax prior to the defender signing for Manchester United. But the Gunners missed out on the Argentina international as they were not prepared to stump up enough cash. Now, they pay almost double the wages for Saliba instead.
Mykhailo Mudryk – £5,200,000
Mkyhailo Mudryk was supposed to be Mikel Arteta’s marquee signing in January only for Chelsea to hijack the bid. The Ukrainian has had a dismal maiden campaign in the Premier League and early signs suggest that Arsenal did the right thing in not going all in for the 22-year-old. He is among the league’s highest earners under 23 years of age.
