William Saliba’s Arsenal Wages Tipped to Rocket as Contract Talks Begin Amid Real Madrid Interest

William Saliba could be set for a tasty pay rise at Arsenal.

The French centre-back is one of the most important players at the Emirates Stadium, having made a huge impact since his debut early in the 2022-23 season.

Saliba has since racked up 137 first-team appearances for the Gunners, earning a place in the PFA Team of the Year three seasons in a row.

Real Madrid impressed with William Saliba

Saliba’s fine form for Arsenal — who have an 18.8% chance of winning this season’s Premier League, based on a recent study — has not gone unnoticed.

He is now a regular for the France men’s national team — winning 14 caps in 2024 alone — while Real Madrid are reportedly impressed as they prepare for life after Antonio Rudiger.

German international Rudiger has entered the final 12 months of his contract and it is widely believed that this season could be his last at the Bernabeu, where he has been since 2022 and has won eight trophies.

Madrid have been linked with a possible free transfer swoop for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi next summer, but now multiple reports suggest Saliba is on their shortlist too.

Arsenal react to Madrid interest in Saliba by opening contract talks

Arsenal have no desire to sell Saliba and have reportedly moved to protect their star asset by opening talks over a new contract.

Saliba’s current deal, which he signed in 2023, is due to expire in 2027. However, Arsenal are said to have proposed a new five-year contract until June 2030.

It is also understood that any new deal would include a big jump in pay.

How much is Saliba currently earning at Arsenal?

According to football money experts Capology, Saliba currently earns a basic wage of £190,000 per week at Arsenal, with bonus payments taking that figure closer to £237,500 in total.

That works out at around £12.35 million per year, including bonuses.

Rudiger’s current Real Madrid pay packet is said to be significantly higher, estimated at €14.58m (£12.62m), plus up to €4.17m (£3.61m) extra in bonus payments.

Meanwhile, Madrid’s top earner is currently being paid around five times more than what Saliba makes at Arsenal.

Kylian Mbappe reportedly makes €40.42m (£34.98m) before tax and €71.67m (£62.03m) including bonuses, while David Alaba, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham are all on more than €20m (£17.31m) per year.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, who joined Madrid from Liverpool earlier this summer, could earn as much as €31.67m (£27.41m) in his first year in Spain.

Saliba injury latest

Saliba started 73 of Arsenal’s 76 Premier League games over the past two full seasons, but he is an injury doubt for Saturday’s home clash with Nottingham Forest.

The 24-year-old did not feature for France during the recent international break, after limping out of Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Liverpool after just five minutes at the end of August.

The Premier League’s official fantasy football game rates Saliba as having a 75% chance of being fit to face Forest, in what will be Ange Postecoglou’s first game in charge after he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo earlier this week.

However, various other sources suggest Saliba is more likely to return at the end of September.

Manager Mikel Arteta will be hoping to have Saliba back sooner rather than later. September is a busy month for the Gunners, with fixtures against Athletic Bilbao, Manchester City, Port Vale and Newcastle still to come.

Speaking about Saliba’s injury following the Liverpool game on August 31, Arteta said: “He twisted his ankle during the warm-up. He came in and believed he could carry on, but from his first two actions you could see he couldn’t cope, so we took him out.

“We had to put [Cristhian] Mosquera on and it was a big test for him at Anfield, but he had a great debut.”

When asked how concerned he was about the extent of Saliba’s injury, Arteta replied: “I am worried. When he cannot play in a game of that stature, there is clearly something wrong.”