Highest paid players
Why Inter Miami’s roster rules make signing Casemiro a near-impossible task
Inter Miami lack roster space and allocation funds to absorb Casemiro’s reported $20m annual salary.
As Casemiro approaches the end of his Manchester United contract, interest from Major League Soccer clubs has been widely reported. Inter Miami are often mentioned among suitors, but the club’s roster and salary mechanisms create a major barrier to signing the Brazilian midfielder.
Reports suggest Casemiro earns $20 million per season at Old Trafford. Inter Miami already have three designated players locked through the 2027–28 season: Lionel Messi, Rodrigo De Paul and Germán Berterame. The club also has three players signed under the U-22 Initiative, the maximum permitted when a team carries three senior designated players. To add Berterame, Miami loaned a fourth U-22 Initiative player, Tomás Avilés, to CF Montréal.
Fabrizio Romano says the club are “really serious” about signing the Man Utd star, but the mechanics are complex. Miami could convert to two designated player slots to free a U-22 Initiative spot, yet that would allow only a younger signing, not a veteran aged 34 like Casemiro. A move would therefore likely require either replacing a current star or a deep roster rework.
Allocation tools also limit Miami’s options. Targeted Allocation Money is used to reduce a salary cap hit for players earning between $803,125 and $1,803,125, but Casemiro’s reported wages sit well above that range. General Allocation Money, which can buy down salaries under $803,125, is minimal for Miami; the club is reported to have only $17,361 in GAM. By comparison, the Colorado Rapids hold $6,380,121 for 2026, while Miami’s 2025 MLS Cup opponent, Vancouver Whitecaps, sit with $20,945.
Without selling or trading significant assets or shedding a designated player, the only practical way for Casemiro to join Inter Miami would be on a salary below $803,125. With the league team salary near the reported maximum of $6,425,000, adding another high-earner looks highly unlikely unless Miami undertakes a major roster upheaval.
Arsenal
Atlético move to make Julián Álvarez top earner as Arsenal and Barcelona circle
Atletico intent on a major new contract for Julian Alvarez to match top wages and deter rivals this.
Atlético Madrid are preparing a contract proposal that would elevate Julián Álvarez to the club’s highest-paid player as a response to reported interest from Arsenal and Barcelona.
According to MARCA, Atlético are inclined to convert a current uncertainty into certainty by offering Álvarez a net salary of $11.5 million per year, up from his present $8.1 million. That net figure is understood to translate to a gross sum in the region of $21.4 million annually, which would match the club’s top earner, Jan Oblak.
Talks have not formally begun, though Álvarez is believed to be aware of Atlético’s thinking. The Argentine finds himself in a position of power ahead of a potentially decisive summer transfer window. “Maybe yes, maybe no, you never know,” he helpfully added.
Arsenal and Barcelona have both been linked, but their financial circumstances differ markedly in the report. Arsenal, backed by Premier League resources, recently made Bukayo Saka the club’s highest earner with a wage equivalent to $20.7 million a year. The Gunners are reportedly obliged to sell this summer to remain compliant with Premier League financial rules after multiple years of heavy outlays and limited offsetting income. Since the 2021–22 campaign, only one club in world soccer has recorded a larger net spend than Arsenal.
Barcelona’s position has been more constrained. The club have been described as so cash-strapped they removed free breakfasts for academy players in recent years. President Joan Laporta inherited significant financial problems stemming from mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic, but Barcelona have used palancas to channel available funds back into the playing squad. As Johan Cruyff once said: “The money should be on the pitch. Not in the bank.”
That approach has funded Robert Lewandowski’s sizable salary, reportedly around $27.6 million. Lewandowski is out of contract this summer and is set to move on, creating a potential squad and accounting vacancy that the reports suggest Álvarez could fill if Barcelona pursue him.
The immediate outcome remains uncertain, but Atlético’s reported plan is clear: use a substantial pay rise to retain Álvarez and deter rival suitors.
Highest paid players
Gravenberch Commits Long-Term Future as Liverpool Reward Midfielder with Major Pay Rise
Gravenberch signed a six-year Liverpool contract worth $116.2m, placing him fourth in weekly pay.
Ryan Gravenberch has signed a six-year contract extension with Liverpool, a deal that the club completed to secure the midfielder’s long-term future. The new agreement follows a period of adaptation for the Dutchman after his move from Bayern Munich in a $45.6 million (£34 million) transfer and a reinvention as a holding midfielder on Merseyside.
Liverpool moved to avoid a drawn-out negotiation. Gravenberch’s previous deal was due to expire in 2028, and the club were keen to avoid another protracted saga given what they have experienced with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté over the past 18 months. The club view their No. 38 as central to long-term plans despite a dip in form amid a disappointing title defence.
According to Dutch outlet De Telegraaf, the contract is worth $116.2 million (€100 million, £86.7 million) across six years, which equates to $19.3 million (€16.6 million, £14.4 million) per year. That works out at roughly $372,000 (€320,000, £277,500) per week, meaning he is almost doubled what he was thought to be earning under his previous contract.
On those reported figures, Gravenberch moves to fourth in the club’s pay hierarchy. Mohamed Salah is reported at $640,000 (£480,000) per week, Virgil van Dijk around $540,000 (£400,000) per week, and Alexander Isak on $400,000 (£300,000) per week. The Telegraph, The Athletic and The Times are among the outlets cited for those numbers.
How Liverpool’s midfield evolves in 2026 remains a subject of interest, particularly with potential managerial change this summer. Alexis Mac Allister has been tenuously linked with a move to Real Madrid, and clubs may enquire about Dominik Szoboszlai should Liverpool fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League. For now, securing Gravenberch on a long-term deal is a clear signal of the club’s intent to build around him.
Arsenal
How Much the Premier League’s Biggest Earners Paid in Tax: The Figures Explained
Top Premier League earners paid more than £100 million in tax; eight notable players and their bills
The top 10 Premier League earners paid more than £100 million to the U.K. Treasury between them. The estimated tax bills reveal how sizable salaries translate into substantial public contributions.
Estimated tax payment: £7.8 million. The ephemeral German was widely considered to be Arsenal’s highest-paid player before Bukayo Saka earned himself a bumper new deal in January. The England international will surely find his way onto this list next year with that pay packet flooding his way.
Estimated tax payment: £7.9 million. A seven-digit tax bill represents some transformation from Gabriel Jesus’s modest beginnings. To earn some extra money as a football-loving scamp, the Brazilian painted the streets of his neighbourhood in preparation for the home World Cup in 2014. Two years later, Jesus won Olympic gold at the Rio de Janeiro games for Brazil alongside Neymar Jr., one of the faces he had painted on the curbs of his local area.
Estimated tax payment: £8.8 million. Omar Marmoush’s hefty tax bill may very well be indicative of the financial reward which Manchester City offered him as incentive to leave Eintracht Frankfurt in the middle of last season. Thus far, it seems to have worked out better for Marmoush’s bank balance—and the coffers of the U.K. Treasury—than City.
Estimated tax payment: £9 million. One of Bernardo Silva’s understated qualities which Pep Guardiola cherishes more than some of his obvious technical gifts is the capacity to never show a “bad face” even in defeat. A look at his latest tax bill may have contorted Bernardo’s expression.
Estimated tax payment: £9 million. One way for Bruno Fernandes to rid himself of any tax demands would be to belatedly accept those eye-watering offers which roll in from Saudi Arabia. There is no personal income tax in the Kingdom. However, as Jordan Henderson discovered to his own cost, it’s not that simple. A former U.K. resident must spend the rest of that tax year and the entire following tax year outside the U.K. to ensure that their earnings are not subjected to Britain’s tax laws.
Estimated tax payment: £9.7 million. The two-year contract extension which Virgil van Dijk signed last April cemented his status as the world’s highest-paid defender. How times have changed. When the Dutch centre back was coming through the ranks of his local youth side in Breda, he worked as a dishwasher at a local restaurant earning €3 per hour.
Estimated tax payment: £9.8 million. Raheem Sterling’s tax bill next year is set to be a lot more modest. After willingly tearing up his contract at Chelsea this month, the former England international is reportedly prepared to accept less than a third of the £325,000-a-week wage which he collected at Stamford Bridge.
Estimated tax payment: £10.9 million. Casemiro won’t have to pay up for much longer. Manchester United’s midfield totem has announced he will be moving onto pastures new come the end of the current campaign. Saudi Arabia and its tax incentives has been upheld as a potential option while Major League Soccer could also offer a new landing spot. U.S. taxes are dependent upon each state, which play some part in Casemiro’s thinking when he weighs up the bevvy of suitors vying for his attention this summer.
