Where can I sign up? A new report has revealed that Barcelona pay higher wages than any other sports team in the world.
The Sporting Intelligence survey (h/t The Guardian) claims that Barcelona pay their players an average of £10.45m per year (before bonuses), well above second place Real Madrid's £8.1m figure.
The Barcelona figure has risen significantly in the past 12 months, largely due to Lionel Messi's new £50m per year contract. Extensions have also been given to the like of Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique, while big money signings such as Phillipe Coutinho and Arthur will have had a major impact.
Manchester United are the only English club in the top 10, one spot behind Juventus in 10th place. The other six spots are taken by NBA teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors. United pay their players an average of £6.53m per year, with Manchester City the next highest at just under £6m.
The figures do not reflect well on United boss Jose Mourinho, who consistently claims that his club cannot compete with the financial clout of their cross-city rivals.
The study consisted of 349 teams from 13 countries, spread across eight different sports. Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool are all part of the top 40.
Interestingly, it was also revealed that the Premier League pays by far the highest wages. The average Premier League player earns around £55,000 per week, with La Liga in second place on around £42,000. That La Liga figure is also highly distorted by the top two or three clubs, with mid table English club paying far higher salaries than their Spanish counterparts. Two to three times more in fact.
The top 10 paying sports teams:
- Barcelona - £10,454,259
- Real Madrid - £8,089,582
- Oklahoma City Thunder - £7,848,811
- Golden State Warriors - £7,819,700
- Washington Wizards - £7,633,608
- Toronto Raptors - £7,577,470
- Houston Rockets - £7,487,744
- Miami Heat - £7,038,292
- Juventus - £6,726,615
- Manchester United - £6,534,654
