The 50 highest annual wage bills in Europe’s Big 5 leagues: Man Utd 5th… | OneFootball

Football is the most popular sport in the world and Europe is home to most of the world’s biggest – and richest – clubs. But who is paying the most in player wages in Europe’s top five leagues?

Often known as the ‘Big five’, the top divisions in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain are widely regarded as the most prestigious in world football.

And clubs from these nations normally dominate the Champions League and Europa League knockout rounds, creating a cycle where their efforts are rewarded financially and increases the gulf between teams in other countries.

But there’s one country that populates a list of the highest annual wage bills than any others – England. The Premier League is full of clubs that, due to lucrative television deals, can pay astronomical fees for players.

Even so, it’s still surprising to see that Aston Villa pay more on wages than Roma, West Ham spending more than AC Milan and Crystal Palace shelling out bigger sums than Napoli, Lazio and Valencia.

Towards the top of the list, PSG are miles out in front of everybody else – the wages of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar alone are worth more than many clubs – while Barcelona and Real Madrid also stand on the podium.

Manchester United are England’s highest-placed club, with their £233million wage bill ranking as the fifth highest in Europe’s top five leagues.

But what other surprises does the list contain? Take a look below for the full top 50 rankings. Note: all figures are in GBP.

1. PSG – £351.3million 2. Barcelona – £300.1million 3. Real Madrid – £241.3million 4. Bayern Munich – £230.2million 5. Manchester United – £223million 6. Chelsea – £164.4million 7. Manchester City – £163.1million 8. Atletico Madrid – £148.4million 9. Liverpool – £141.8million 10. Juventus – £136.7million

11. Internazionale – £108.6million 12. Tottenham – £101.3million 13. Villarreal – £85.6million 14. Arsenal – £85.5million 15. Borussia Dortmund – £81.4million 16. Sevilla – £81.1million 17. RB Leipzig – £77million 18. Aston Villa – £75.2million 19. Roma – £73.2million 20. West Ham United – £70.2million 21. AC Milan – £67.6million 22. Leicester City – £65.6million 23. Newcastle United – £62.6million 24. Athletic Bilbao – £62.2million 25. Crystal Palace – £59.2million

26. Napoli – £58.5million 27. Lazio – £51million 28. Marseille – £50.4million 29. Everton – £46.8million 30. Valencia – £45.5million 31. Fiorentina – £42.6million 32. Real Betis – £39.9million 33. Bayer Leverkusen – £39.6million 34. Monaco – £38.2million 35. Fulham – £37.6million 36. Wolfsburg – £36.9million 37. Wolves – £35.7million 38. Southampton – £35.4million 39. Borussia Monchengladbach – £35.3million 40. Lyon – £35.2million 41. Hertha Berlin – £32.5million 42. Hoffenheim – £31.9million 43. Real Sociedad – £30.9million 44. Monza – £30.5million 45. Bournemouth – £29.1million

46. Schalke – £29.1million 47. Atalanta – £28.9million 48. Nottingham Forest – £28.6million 49. Brighton – £28.3million 50. Torino – £24.3million