PSG top biggest wage bills list
THE top 10 wage bills in European football as Barcelona are leapfrogged by PSG and Manchester United top the Premier League’s salary charts
The release of Manchester City’s annual accounts last week highlighted the extent to which Pep Guardiola has been backed as he looks to launch a new era at the Etihad Stadium.
City, however, are not Europe or even England’s biggest spenders.
Sportsmail has taken a look at the top 10 wage bills across European football
1. Paris Saint-Germain - £279m (Top earner: Neymar, £537 000-per-week*)
We have a new leader. Following this summer’s transfer business – and the arrival of £33m-a-year Neymar – the Parisians have taken possession of the biggest wage bill in Europe, ahead of Barcelona.
PSG have raised the bar, with the Brazilian taking home around £537 000-a-week. That works out at 88p per second. Nice work if you can get it.
2. Barcelona — £264m (Top earner: Lionel Messi, £500 000-per-week)
The giants of European football have a wage bill to match. However, the figures here have been calculated to reflect this summer’s loss of Neymar.
That said, nobody believes the Catalan club will not make a statement in the forthcoming transfer window and may soon retake top spot from their French rivals.
3. Manchester United — £264m (Top earner: Paul Pogba, £290 000-per-week)
United’s figures reflect the substantial backing given to Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho after the short-lived David Moyes era as the club continues to try and recapture the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Football is a complex game, and while injuries have impacted the side, it is hard to reconcile the at-times negative tactics of the current incumbent with this hefty wage bill.
4. Chelsea — £250m (Top earner: Eden Hazard, £200 000-per-week)
Chelsea’s figures are due out shortly and, as was the case with Barcelona, may well be headed south following pending transfer activity, with Diego Costa about to shifted from the tab.
That said, the arrivals of the likes of Alvaro Morata and Tiermoue Bakayoko will not have come cheap.
5. Manchester City — £244m (Top earner: Sergio Aguero, £220 000-per-week)
The cost of supporting Pep Guardiola in the first part of his City project became clear earlier this month when the Premier League leaders announced their annual figures. Salaries at the Etihad Stadium rose by 25 per cent in the Catalan’s first year.
While that does not include the arrivals of the likes of Benjamin Mendy, Danilo and Kyle Walker, it should be noted that the departures of big earners such as Samir Nasri, Joe Hart, Fernando and Wilfried Bony, are also not included and so this should be a relatively accurate sum.
6. Real Madrid — £240m (Top earner: Cristiano Ronaldo, £365 000-per-week*)
These are testing times in the Spanish capital for Zinedine Zidane and Co. The departures of Alvaro Morata to Chelsea and Danilo to Manchester City, with no highprofile arrivals, has sent them down the pecking order.
And that is reflected in their struggles in La Liga. They are third and eight points behind rivals Barcelona.
7. Bayern Munich — £235m (Top earner: Robert Lewandowski, £160 000-per-week)
A summer of astute but costly acquisitions puts the Bavarians next on the list. The loan arrival of James Rodriguez from Real was notable.
Adding the likes of Corentin Tolisso, from Lyon, and Kingsley Coman, from Juventus, add to the sense that there is a desire to improve Champions’ League performance, something underlined by the departure of Carlo Ancelotti.
8. Arsenal — £210m (Top earners: Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, £150 000-per-week)
Arsenal announced their figures at the end of September, with a wage bill of around £199m.
This will have risen slightly following this summer’s transfer business, with the addition of Alexandre Lacazette the highest-profile arrival, but their wage bill is still a long way short of clubs that the Gunners support see as key rivals.
9. Liverpool — £210m (Top earner: Philippe Coutinho, £200,000-per-week)
A sign of how quickly things can change in the crazy world of English football comes with Liverpool’s drop down the list. Last year, their wage bill was bigger than that of Manchester City.
However, a cautious period of activity has seen them be overtaken on the salary front and the departure of Philippe Coutinho, should it come to pass, will see costs drop again. Expect investment.
10. Juventus — £150m (Top earner: Gonzalo Higuain, £130 000-per-week)
Another sign of the incredible sums floating around the Premier League comes with the arrival of Juventus in tenth place.
The Italians dominate domestically and reached the Champions’ League final, but their wage bill is nowhere near that of some of England’s top clubs. Juve’s nearest rival? AC Milan on a distant £107m. — Dailymailonline.