Revealed: The 15 Football Clubs With the Biggest Wage Bills in Europe
Barcelona have been revealed as the club with the highest wage bill in all of Europe, far ahead of La Liga rivals Real Madrid, as well as big spending Premier League duo Manchester United and Manchester City.
Barcelona's annual wage bill, revealed by the club's published 2017/18 accounts, is so big it is nearly €100m more than Real Madrid's and close to half a billion Euros in total.
David Aliaga/MB Media/GettyImages
Swiss Ramble has conducted significant research into the Catalan club's finances this week, finding that while Barça's annual revenue is rising. But last season's total revenue of €914m was propped up by a €209m gain in player sales, the proportion of turnover (commercial, matchday, broadcasting etc) spent on wages at Camp Nou was among the highest in La Liga at 70%.
That figure was previously a very frugal 43% for the 2012/13,which right now would be one of the lowest in La Liga, while only 53% of Real Madrid's turnover last season went on wages.
Barça's enormous wage bill in 2017/18 was €487m. No other elite European club even exceeded €400m, with Real second on the list on €395m. Manchester United's wage bill for last season came to €337m and Manchester City's hit €296m.
Laurence Griffiths/GettyImages
Only 2016/17 figures were available for several other top sides, but it still gives a good indication of how much each is spending on salaries.
Paris Saint-Germain's bill hit €272m the season before last, while Bayern Munich spent €265m on wages. The figure for Juventus last season was €259m, while Premier League trio Chelsea (€256m), Liverpool (€241m) and Arsenal (€232m) complete the top 10 big wage spenders.
Tottenham Hotspur have been relatively frugal compared to their domestic rivals, spending €149m on wages in 2016/17. Perhaps surprisingly, Leicester sneak into the top 15 after their spend on wages for the 2016/17 campaign hit €131m - likely the result of a number of big contracts handed out by the Foxes after their Premier League title win the season before.
Club | League | Wage Bill |
Barcelona | La Liga | €487m |
Real Madrid | La Liga | €395m |
Manchester United | Premier League | €337m |
Manchester City | Premier League | €296m |
Paris Saint-Germain | Ligue 1 | €272m* |
Bayern Munich | Budesliga | €265m* |
Juventus | Serie A | €259m |
Chelsea | Premier League | €256m* |
Liverpool | Premier League | €241m* |
Arsenal | Premier League | €232m* |
Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | €187m |
Atletico Madrid | La Liga | €178m* |
Inter | Serie A | €156m |
Tottenham Hotspur | Premier League | €148m* |
Leicester City | Premier League | €131m* |
*2016/17 figures
