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Deals & Investments April 26, 2022

How Valuable is Diogo Jota’s Contract With Liverpool?

Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Breaking down salary details to determine just how valuable Liverpool’s Diogo Jota contract looks on their balance sheet compared to other top Premier League forwards

Diogo Jota is one of the most dangerous players on one of global soccer‘s most dangerous teams. The 25-year-old Liverpool FC and Portugal national team forward has been with the club since 2020, with 24 goals to his name in just 49 appearances. Jota has found himself increasingly relied upon to score heaps of goals despite the Reds’ star front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah — three of the best players in the world — limiting his playing time. Embracing a lesser role makes Jota quite the winner and team player, but just how undervalued is his contract in the bigger picture of world football?

The Premier League features the best players battling for trophies to solidify their football legacies. Unfortunately, clubs need to stack their teams with talent for a chance at those trophies, which means that some of the most otherwise impactful players in the world will have to accept lesser roles. For his part, Jota has performed his station to maximum capacity, building a reputation as a plug-and-play guy that fits anywhere for Liverpool as an attacking option.

With that in mind, let’s dive into all the Diogo Jota contract and salary details to get a sharper sense of just how much value he’s creating compared to his current wages.

Diogo Jota Wages & Contract Details

All dollar figures via Spotrac.

Age: 25
Contract length: 5 years
Total value: $29,79,1068 (£23,500,000)
2021-22 salary: $5,958,214 (£4,700,000)
Weekly wages: $113,704 (£90,385)
Free agency: 2025

Where Does Jota’s Salary Rank Among EPL Forwards?

Highest-paid Forwards by 2021-22 Salary

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (MU) $31.5M
2. Jadon Sancho (MU) $23.4M
3. Romelu Lukaku (CHE) $21.7M
4. Raheem Sterling (MC) $20M
5. Timo Werner (CHE) $18.2M
6. Edinson Cavani (MU) $16.7M
t-7. Mohamed Salah (LIV) $12.3M
t-7. Harry Kane (TOT)$12.3M
t-7. Marcus Rashford (MU) $12.3M
10. Alexandre Lacazette (ARS) $11.2M
…
23. Diogo Jota (LIV): $5.6M

Highest-paid Forwards by Total Contract Value

1. Jadon Sancho (MU) $118.6M
2. Romelu Lukaku (MU) $110.1M
3. Timo Werner (CHE): $90.1M
4. Harry Kane (TOT): $79.5M
5. Cristiano Ronaldo (MU): $69.1M
6. Mohamed Salah (LIV): $66.3M
7. Alexandre Lacazette (ARS): $60.3M
8. Roberto Firmino (LIV): $59.6M
9. Heung-min Son (TOT): $54.9M
10. Christian Pulisic (CHE): $53.9M
…
27. Diogo Jota (LFC): $29.6M

Diogo Jota 2021-22 Stats & Accolades

Numbers updated through April 26.

Goals

Premier League: 15 (No. 4 in EPL)
Champions League: 1
FA Cup: 2
Carabao Cup: 3

Assists

Premier League: 2
Champions League: 2
FA Cup: 1
Carabao Cup: 0

2022 Carabao Cup champion
70 shot-creating actions rank No. 23 in the Premier League

How Much Has Jota Made Per Goal This Season?

The Premier League season is far from over, but here’s where things stand through April 26:

Jota scored 15 league goals this season, surpassing the likes of Harry Kane, Kevin De Bruyne, and teammate Sadio Mane. With a salary of $5,577,895, Jota would have made $371,859 per goal if the season ended today.
The highest-paid goal scorer in the league is Cristiano Ronaldo, who earns wages of $31,473,574 this season. His 16 tallies have cost a staggering $1,967,098 per goal.

How Underpaid is Diogo Jota?

Jota is criminally underpaid based on his goal scoring in the current season. To put it into perspective, only Mo Salah, Son Heung-Min, and Ronaldo have scored more goals than Jota this season, and all three of those players’ salaries are at least double what the Portuguese star earns.

Another way of looking at things? His 2021-22 salary of $5,577,895 is just 8.45% of his $66,000,000 estimated market value according to Transfermarkt, while his total contract value of $29,563,000 is 44.79% of that figure. Compare that to:

Harry Kane: 11.18% / 56.73% of a $110,000,000 market value
Cristiano Ronaldo: 102.84% / 173.3% of a $38,500,000 market value

All told, Jota’s production on the pitch this season exceeds that of several EPL forwards in the top-five salary range. Also consider that his willingness to play his role despite relatively limited time is a significant component to Liverpool’s overall success. With this in mind, let’s declare him a top-10 forward , putting him right around an even £10,00,000 ($12,580,000) per season. Even then, he’d still be not just highly valuable, but arguably a steal — particularly for a hypothetical team ready to hand him major minutes.

Jota’s contract is set to expire after the 2024-25 season. If he continues putting the ball into the net at this pace, he’ll earn a significant increase in salary, whether it’s from Liverpool or another Champions League-caliber club.