Premier League clubs have spent more than £1bn on salaries for injured players in last five years, report says

Premier League clubs have paid out more than £1bn in salaries to players while injured during the last five years, according to Howden’s Men’s European Football Injury Index 2024/25.

The report has calculated that 22,596 injuries occurred across Europe’s top five men’s leagues (England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy) over the past five seasons, costing clubs £2.97bn.

Premier League clubs accounted for nearly a quarter of those injuries at 24%, with over £1bn paid out in salaries to injured players at an average of £237.78m per season.

Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United all recorded above-average injury costs in each of the last five seasons, with Manchester United incurring the highest cost figure of the four with £154.51m.

The number of injuries recorded in the 2024/25 season across the top five men’s European leagues increased compared with the previous campaign, however there is a greater than proportionate decrease in costs incurred by top clubs, £138.34m less.

Young players are being particularly impacted by injuries, the report adds. The five most ‘injury-prone’ scenarios, where players were involved in a minimum of 300 minutes of football, all involved U21 players.

Premier League forwards under the age of 21 sustained an injury every 120 minutes of competitive domestic football, meanwhile.

“This year’s report underscores the ever-increasing physical demands on elite players,” James Burrows, head of sport at Howden, said.

“We’ve seen an evolution in this year’s report in injury count and associated cost, which echoes current debates around enhancing player protection within the game.

“We hope the report can serve as a valuable resource for players, clubs and governing bodies to navigate these debates and make informed decisions about the future of the game.”