Exclusive: £1.4bn deal explains exactly how Sunderland signed Granit Xhaka

Has there been a better signing than Granit Xhaka this season? Not only has the Sunderland man been a revelation on the pitch, but when you break down the figures behind the deal, the Black Cats got themselves a bargain.

After leaving Arsenal in 2023, few would have expected Xhaka to be back in the Premier League, let alone turning out for a newly-promoted team.

He’s become the beating heart of this Sunderland side that has taken the top flight by storm. The fans love Xhaka for his ambition, passion, and the way he pushes those around him to do better.

And, by the sounds of it, Xhaka has known since day one that Sunderland were right for him, too. But, putting emotion aside, just how good a deal was this for the Black Cats?

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Granit Xhaka is Sunderland’s highest-paid player ever

TBR Football‘s resident finance expert Adam Williams has been digging into the details of Xhaka’s move and it turns out he’s not just Sunderland’s most impactful signing, he’s also their highest-earning player ever.

Williams said: “We don’t know exactly how much Granit Xhaka earns at Sunderland, but we are aware that he’s Sunderland’s best-paid player. And by extension, because of how wage inflation has taken hold in the years since Sunderland were last in the Premier League, that means he will be comfortably the best paid player in their history.

“He’ll be on at least £100,000 per week – I’m confident of that. The fact that Sunderland, a newly promoted team, can match his wage at Bayer Leverkusen, recent Bundesliga champions, tells you all you need to know about the Premier League’s financial dominance compared to its rivals around Europe.”

Explaining that difference between England and the rest of Europe’s top leagues, Williams revealed some absolutely astounding numbers.

“You now have distinctly mid-table Premier League teams with bigger wage bills than Borussia Dortmund and the Milan clubs, for example. That’s thanks to the way the Premier League has sold itself to the world,” Williams added. “The domestic TV deal is worth about £1.7bn per season, while the Bundesliga’s equivalent is worth just under £1bn annually.

“So there’s a big difference there already, but it’s the overseas rights where the difference is amplified by an order of magnitude. The Bundesliga’s are worth about £210m. The Premier League’s? £1.4bn. It’s staggering. And that’s why Sunderland’s wage bill this season will be as high as some of the biggest clubs in Europe outside England, because it’s underwritten by media income.”

Given how much Sunderland benefited financially from promotion and the deep pockets of their owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, twinned with those staggering figures, it’s no wonder the Black Cats splashed out this summer.

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Sunderland got a brilliant deal for Granit Xhaka

Louis-Dreyfus has plans to spend again in January in order to pursue his ambitions of a top ten finish this season. But, there’s unlikely to be anyone he could sign that would become a better pound-for-pound signing than Xhaka.

On the actual money behind the deal, Williams added: “The £17m they have paid for Xhaka, including add-ons, is a cheap deal by Premier League standards, especially for a player who’s played over 200 times in the division.

“Yes, he’s 33 and the three-year deal, on paper, might seem like a risk, but it’s one Sunderland can certainly afford to take.

“I would be stunned if there wasn’t a significant step-down clause if, as looks very unlikely at the moment, Sunderland are relegated. That protects the club, and it means they can afford to take the gamble. At the moment, it’s paying off. If he helps keep them up, he pays for himself within a year.”

Sunderland look miles away from a relegation battle now, which means more money and more stability for the club. And behind it all, their £17m captain fantastic, will surely receive all the plaudits for his leadership throughout the campaign.