Man City pair forced to give up £17.8m as transfer decisions loom | Football | Sport
Manchester City stars Bernardo Silva and Omar Marmoush have been named among the UK’s largest taxpayers as they contemplate their futures in English football. Silva and Marmoush have collectively paid £17.8m to the Inland Revenue over the past 12 months.
While Haaland’s future at City appears secure, the same cannot be said for Silva and Marmoush, who could both be on the move this summer. Silva’s City contract expires in months and, according to reports in Spain, the Portuguese star has already decided to leave the Etihad, with Barcelona understood to be his preferred choice.
A return to boyhood club Benfica has been mooted, alongside a lucrative switch to the Saudi Pro League. As for Marmoush, who joined from Eintracht Frankfurt just a year ago, transfer speculation emerged in January linking him with moves to Tottenham, Aston Villa and Turkish giants Fenerbahce and Galatasaray.
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While Marmoush has found regular minutes hard to come by given fierce competition within Pep Guardiola’s squad, he has seized his opportunities when presented, including netting twice in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg victory against Newcastle.
Nevertheless, a summer departure cannot be ruled out should the Egyptian seek guaranteed playing time elsewhere. Once again, Saudi Arabian interest could materialise, given the substantial financial incentives on offer.
Beyond the enormous wages available, footballers pay no tax on their earnings in the country. This contrasts sharply with the 45 per cent rate levied in the UK on annual salaries surpassing £125,000.
The overall tax list was headed by bookmakers Betfred, who contributed £400m to the public purse. The likes of Harry Styles (£24.7m), Ed Sheeran (£19.9m) and Anthony Joshua (£11m) joined Haaland and Salah in the top 100.
