The top five earners at Liverpool FC - if it was based on merit

Thanks to a statistical model devised by CIES Football Observatory, we can see what the top stars at Liverpool should be earning per year based on their level, position, percentage of games started and minutes played over the past year.

5. Florian Wirtz - £12.9 million

Although the 22 year-old hasn't had the start of dreams at Anfield, he just edges out Virgil Van Dijk in the top five, beating the skipper out by £400,000 per year.

This is thanks to both his position - two of the five highest earners in the list, Jude Bellingham and Dominik Szoboszlai, are also attacking midfielders - and his relatively young age.

While Wirtz has only started 69% of Liverpool's total matches this season, he played the most amount of minutes out of any attacking player for Bayer Leverkusen.

Let's hope he continues to pick up game time so he can flourish into the player we all know he can be!

4. Ryan Gravenberch - £13.3 million

It is little wonder that the Dutch midfielder is on the list, because since the start of last season he has been one of the first names on the team sheet.

Gravenberch has started a whopping 98% of matches for Liverpool in the past year, and clocked up the third most minutes in the whole squad last season.

It is a testament to his remarkable consistency and resilience at the highest level, despite his injury woes at the beginning of this campaign.

Gravenberch ranks as the third-highest defensive midfielder on the list, behind João Neves and Aurélien Tchouaméni. Not bad company at all!

3. Cody Gakpo - £13.7 million

Ahead of Gravenberch is his fellow countryman Cody Gakpo, whose low rate of matches started is offset by his remarkable 'sporting level of matches played'.

The 26 year-old only started 81% of matches over the last 365 days, a low number that can be mostly attributed to Slot's heavy rotation in attack last season. With Jota, Diaz and Chiesa all options on the left-hand side of attack, every game was a fight for minutes.

However, Gakpo ranks highly for performance, which shouldn't come as a surprise if we look at his attacking numbers over the past year.

In the past 365 days, he has bagged 14 goals and 9 assists, and impressive tally for any player, not least one playing matches in the Premier League and the Champions League.

His tally of goal involvements this season is seven, the joint-second most in the whole Liverpool squad. He may not be in the headlines, but amid all the chaos, Gakpo is having a good season!

2. Dominik Szoboszlai - £15.1 million

For the next player on the list, we have to jump up by £1.4 million and crack into the top five. Who else could be there but the player of the season so far, Dominik Szoboszlai.

The Hungarian only trails Van Dijk and Salah in minutes played, with a staggering 4,506 minutes clocked up over the past year. This season, he is joint-first for minutes played with the skipper: the pair have played every single minute whenever they have made the matchday squad.

Whether it be at right-back, defensive midfield or attacking midfield, Szoboszlai is a sure bet to start, and perhaps this utility is the reason why he ranks so highly on this list.

Another reason could be his impressive haul of goal contributions. The 25 year-old has scored two goals and registered five assists this season, a feat that is particularly impressive given that three of these involvements were created from right-back or defensive midfield.

He is doing that No. 8 shirt proud!

1. Mohamed Salah - £15.8 million

As is the case with most lists and rankings concerning Liverpool FC, the Egyptian king rises above everyone else.

Second only to Kylian Mbappe in the overall list, Salah is the only player above the age of 30 in the top twelve earners based on merit.

When looking at the Egyptian's statistics over the past year, you can take your pick of the most impressive metrics.

No player clocked up more minutes than the winger last season, who played in a total of 52 matches. The 33 year-old played 96% of Liverpool's matches as a starter in the past year, which absolutely ridiculous considering the physical demands of the Premier League.

In the same time-span, Salah scored 29 goals and notched 16 assists across all competitions, even with his dry spell at the end of last season!

Despite all the noise around his levels this season, he still has the most goal contributions out of the whole Liverpool squad with eight.

You can say what you like about Mohamed Salah and his contract extension but, according to this list, he should be earning even more!