Barcelona have become the first sports team in history with average first-team pay in excess of £10m a year, according to the latest Global Sports Salary Survey, which also shows the extent to which wages are spiralling across all sports.
This season the Spanish champions will pay its 23-man squad an average of £10.45m, before bonuses, a figure that has risen by a third since 2017-18. Much of that is down to signing Lionel Messi to a new deal that pays him in excess of £50m a year, although signing Phillippe Coutinho, Arthur, Malcom and Arturo Vidal, and handing Gerard Piqué, Sergi Roberto, Samuel Umtiti and Sergio Busquets lucrative extensions has also significantly swollen the payroll.
Real Madrid are second in the GSS survey – which tracks pay in 349 teams across eight sports in 13 countries – with its first-team players earning an average of £8.1m a year. The next six spots are filled by NBA teams, with the Oklahoma Thunder in third (£7.85m) and the Golden State Warriors (£7.82m) in fourth.
Manchester United (£6.53m) are the highest British club in the survey in 10th, one spot behind Juventus who have leapt from 32nd place to ninth after signing Cristiano Ronaldo. Manchester City (£5.93m) are the next highest Premier League club in 20th position, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all in the top 40.
