Report: One player has taken a £40k-a-week pay cut to leave Everton

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Bernard has taken a £40,000-a-week pay cut after swapping Premier League giants Everton for UAE-based outfit Sharjah FC, as reported by Goal.

When a player completes a move to the Middle East, it is often assumed that he’s heading to the Gulf for one reason and one reason only. And it’s not for the, ahem, ‘challenge’.

Asamoah Gyan famously doubled his wages when swapping Sunderland for Al-Ain a decade ago and, when the news broke that Bernard would be plying his trade in Dubai next season, you’d have been forgiven for assuming that the Brazilian’s bank balance had been given quite the boost.

According to Goal, however, Bernard will take home £8.5 million over two years at Sharjah.

And while that may seem like an eye-watering sum to you and I, it amounts to around £80,000-a-week – substantially less than what the former Shakhtar Donetsk talisman was taking home at Goodison Park.

Should Everton be thrilled to get rid of Bernard?

Bernard is understood to have been earning £120,000-a-week at Everton.

He was actually the club’s joint-highest earner alongside ex-Barcelona defender Yerry Mina, with Spotrac claiming that Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and even James Rodriguez were being paid less than a man who started just three Premier League games last season.

Bernard’s exit means Everton have succeeded in getting another high-earning, underperforming player off a crippling wage bill.

Yannick Bolasie, once a £28 million signing from Crystal Palace, was released on a free transfer at the end of last season while Theo Walcott has re-joined Southampton on a permanent deal following a rather underwhelming spell at Goodison Park.

There is a chance that Andre Gomes could go too before the end of August.

Benfica are looking to bring the Portugal international back to Lisbon and Everton may be tempted to cash in on a man who has scored just once in 81 games for the Toffees, while struggling to recapture the barnstorming form of his Valencia days.