Barcelona Smash Sports Wage Record as Average First Team Player Salary Soars Over £10m
Big-spending Barcelona have become the first sports club in history to pay an average first team wage of over £10m.
With the likes of Lionel Messi, Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suárez on the books, Barça have had to invest heavily in player wages. As transfer fees continue to spiral upwards with the thought of signing a top quality player for less than £50m becoming unthinkable, wages have also inflated considerably.
Denis Doyle/GettyImages
According to the Daily Mail, the Catalan giants are currently spending an average of £10.4m per player, which doesn't include additional fees that are paid for goals scored, clean sheets and appearances.
The research carried out by the Global Sports Salaries Survey put Barcelona top of list made up of 349 sports teams spread across 13 countries.
Real Madrid come second in the list, with Serie A giants Juventus tenth. The rest of the top ten is occupied by basketball teams from the NBA. This is the highest paying sports league in the world, followed by cricket's Indian Premier League. The Premier League tops the football chart, with an average of £2.9m paid in first team wages per player.
Soccrates Images/GettyImages
The English top tier sees Manchester United top the wage charts, followed by Manchester City, Chelsea, and Liverpool.
With Financial Fair Play looming over a number of sides, and having already landed Serie A side AC Milan in hot water, it remains to be seen whether football's mega spending can remain sustainable.
In other news, Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde claimed that his side lacked 'offensive spark' in their dramatic 1-1 La Liga draw with Atlético Madrid.
The reigning champions left it late to salvage a draw against their fellow title challengers, with Ousmane Dembélé pulling his side level after a frustrating evening in the Spanish capital.
