Money doesn't guarantee sporting success but it probably helps. The latest data on how much international sports clubs spend on players wages tells us that English Premier League outfit, Manchester City, are now in the top three, up from tenth spot last year. Players lucky enough to be in the City's first team are likely to be on £86,280 a week, on average, according to research just released by Sporting Intelligence. Chelsea, who play in this weekends FA cup final, are fourth. Both teams trail Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, who are first and second respectively.



Barcelona, whose crown as Europe's best club team has slipped a little recently thanks to a poor season by their standards, paid each of their first team players an incredible £5.2 million per annum, or £101,160 per week. Real Madrid, who have just won the Spanish championship, pay their players around £90,000 per week, but this is likely to increase significantly if Madrid's current crop of players go on to dominate European football, as many football experts now predict.

The data also throws up further evidence of how football clubs offer the biggest reward for sporting talent, where once basketball and American football clubs used to dominate. Currently, of the top ten sports clubs spending the most on wages, seven are football teams based in Europe.

Footballers' wages have been on an upward curve for some time now despite warnings that the industry's bubble may burst, which could leave overspending clubs in financial ruin.

Efforts in the past to control wages have largely failed, most notably a salary cap of £20 per week in the 1950's. This was undermined as English players were being enticed by foreign clubs offering better terms. The Chairman of The Professional Footballer's Association, Jimmy Hill, decided to act, throwing his weight behind Fulham's attempts to keep their star player, Johnny Haynes, by paying him more. In 1961, the PFA and Fulham succeeded, and Haynes became English football's first £100-a-week player, a paltry sum when compared to what stars of the modern game earn, but it was estimated to be seven times more than the average manual wage at the time.

Data summary

Global Sports Salaries Survey 2012: the richest teams by average first-team pay Click heading to sort table. Download this data Rank Rank last year Team and League Average player pay (£) £ per year (week) Ave player pay ($) $ per year (week) 1 1 Barcelona * La Liga 5260313 101160 8680569 166934 2 2 Real Madrid La Liga 4724662 90859 7796637 149935 3 10 Manchester City * EPL 4486580 86280 7403754 142380 4 6 Chelsea EPL 4118227 79197 6795899 130690 5 4 LA Lakers * NBA 3804441 73162 6278088 120732 6 3 New York Yankees * MLB 3748831 72093 6186322 118968 7 14 Milan * Serie A 3699411 71143 6104769 117399 8 12 Bayern Munich * Bundesliga 3579961 68845 5907652 113609 9 13 Philadelphia Phillies MLB 3525612 67800 5817965 111884 10 7 Internazionale Serie A 3454681 66436 5700915 109633 11 16 Manchester United EPL 3345911 64344 5521423 106181 12 43 San Antonio Spurs NBA 3302712 63514 5450135 104810 13 28 LA Angels MLB 3228139 62080 5327075 102444 14 42 Chicago Bulls NBA 3226329 62045 5324088 102386 15 15 Boston Celtics NBA 3224721 62014 5321435 102335 16 22 Arsenal EPL 3199678 61532 5280108 101541 17 58 Miami Heat NBA 3188496 61317 5261657 101186 18 20 Liverpool EPL 3169631 60954 5230525 100587 19 8 Boston Red Sox MLB 3086731 59360 5093724 97956 20 27 Memphis Grizzlies NBA 3040693 58475 5017751 96495 21 21 Dallas Mavericks NBA 2989371 57488 4933060 94867 22 24 Atlanta Hawks NBA 2933753 56418 4841280 93102 23 19 Philadelphia 76ers NBA 2909924 55960 4801957 92345 24 52 LA Clippers NBA 2874816 55285 4744022 91231 25 38 Juventus Serie A 2845701 54725 4695976 90307 26 66 Texas Rangers MLB 2808773 54015 4635037 89135 27 47 Detroit Tigers MLB 2764555 53165 4562069 87732 28 5 Orlando Magic NBA 2757779 53034 4550887 87517 29 123 Miami Marlins MLB 2650139 50964 4373259 84101 30 6 Portland Trail Blazers NBA 2641418 50797 4358869 83824 31 39 Phoenix Suns NBA 2608333 50160 4304271 82774 32 35 Milwaukee Bucks NBA 2594772 49899 4281893 82344 33 37 New Orleans Hornets NBA 2543396 48911 4197111 80714 34 56 Schalke Bundesliga 2537706 48802 4187722 80533 35 31 Detroit Pistons NBA 2528854 48632 4173115 80252 36 29 Kolkata Knight Riders * IPL 2525129 48560 4166968 80134 37 49 NY Knicks NBA 2524456 48547 4165858 80113 38 11 Utah Jazz NBA 2517627 48416 4154588 79896 39 44 Mumbai Indians IPL 2509657 48263 4141436 79643 40 34 Golden State Warriors NBA 2474790 47592 4083898 78537 41 51 Aston Villa EPL 2464831 47401 4067464 78220 42 9 Denver Nuggets NBA 2463222 47370 4064809 78169 43 53 New Jersey Nets NBA 2417102 46483 3988701 76706 44 48 St Louis Cardinals MLB 2387175 45907 3939317 75756 45 55 Washington Wizards NBA 2385681 45878 3936851 75709 46 33 San Francisco Giants MLB 2375887 45690 3920689 75398 47 62 Roma Serie A 2361932 45422 3897660 74955 48 23 Chicago White Sox MLB 2349279 45178 3876780 74553 49 32 Charlotte Bobcats NBA 2339193 44984 3860136 74233 50 0 Pune Warriors IPL 2326765 44745 3839628 73839 51 110 Tottenham EPL 2308494 44394 3809476 73259 52 87 Minnesota Timberwolves NBA 2296463 44163 3789623 72877 53 18 Houston Rockets NBA 2292551 44088 3783167 72753 54 73 Milwaukee Brewers MLB 2276040 43770 3755921 72229 55 26 Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL 2262072 43501 3732872 71786 56 46 Toronto Raptors NBA 2222318 42737 3667270 70524 57 50 Oklahoma City Thunder NBA 2220345 42699 3664013 70462 58 0 Kochi Tuskers Kerala IPL 2186099 42040 3607500 69375 59 60 Delhi Daredevils IPL 2184618 42012 3605056 69328 60 54 Chennai Super Kings IPL 2154524 41433 3555396 68373 61 69 Sacramento Kings NBA 2118801 40746 3496445 67239 62 25 Minnesota Twins MLB 2111641 40608 3484630 67012 63 30 New York Mets MLB 2095234 40293 3457555 66491 64 59 Cleveland Cavaliers NBA 2056330 39545 3393356 65257 65 17 Chicago Cubs MLB 2055626 39531 3392194 65234 66 41 Indiana Pacers NBA 2050492 39433 3383722 65072 67 45 Deccan Chargers IPL 1990571 38280 3284840 63170 68 126 Rajasthan Royals IPL 1968040 37847 3247660 62455 69 57 Los Angeles Dodgers MLB 1921859 36959 3171453 60989 70 86 Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga 1892391 36392 3122824 60054 71 68 Valencia La Liga 1857660 35724 3065511 58952 72 109 Buffalo Sabres * NHL 1833553 35261 3025729 58187 73 78 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 1826261 35120 3013696 57956 74 40 Kings XI Punjab IPL 1785180 34330 2945904 56652 75 105 Pittsburgh Steelers * NFL 1779939 34230 2937255 56486 76 92 Cincinnati Reds MLB 1779083 34213 2935843 56459 77 71 Seattle Mariners MLB 1774203 34119 2927789 56304 78 65 Baltimore Orioles MLB 1701549 32722 2807897 53998 79 64 Atlanta Braves MLB 1682825 32362 2776998 53404 80 85 Oakland Raiders NFL 1673000 32173 2760784 53092 81 76 Werder Bremen Bundesliga 1657329 31872 2734924 52595 82 84 Stuttgart Bundesliga 1648984 31711 2721154 52330 83 158 Cleveland Indians MLB 1638888 31517 2704493 52009 84 139 Toronto Blue Jays MLB 1633767 31419 2696043 51847 85 61 Colorado Rockies MLB 1631350 31372 2692054 51770 86 100 Washington Capitals NHL 1623137 31214 2678500 51510 87 98 New York Rangers NHL 1619638 31147 2672727 51399 88 77 Boston Bruins NHL 1610158 30965 2657083 51098 89 142 Arizona Diamondbacks MLB 1607702 30917 2653030 51020 90 88 Vancouver Canucks NHL 1606647 30897 2651288 50986 91 122 Washington Nationals MLB 1589957 30576 2623747 50457 92 135 LA Kings NHL 1566792 30131 2585521 49722 93 106 Hamburg Bundesliga 1563389 30065 2579904 49614 94 91 Atletico Madrid La Liga 1560739 30014 2575531 49529 95 119 Carolina Panthers NFL 1543485 29682 2547059 48982 96 104 Sevilla La Liga 1542974 29673 2546216 48966 97 117 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 1538324 29583 2538542 48818 98 82 Dallas Cowboys NFL 1531603 29454 2527451 48605 99 67 Detroit Red Wings NHL 1530481 29432 2525600 48569 100 81 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 1530009 29423 2524821 48554 101 121 New York Jets NFL 1520909 29248 2509804 48265 102 118 Toronto Maples Leafs NHL 1501726 28879 2478148 47657 103 124 New York Giants NFL 1481698 28494 2445098 47021 104 136 Fulham EPL 1469616 28262 2425160 46638 105 97 Detroit Lions NFL 1457934 28037 2405882 46267 106 93 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1454370 27969 2400001 46154 107 101 Pittsburgh Pengiuns NHL 1451914 27921 2395948 46076 108 120 Everton EPL 1437370 27642 2371948 45614 109 128 St Louis Rams NFL 1436546 27626 2370588 45588 110 130 Sunderland EPL 1434654 27590 2367467 45528 111 83 San Jose Sharks NHL 1429269 27486 2358580 45357 112 151 Bolton EPL 1419805 27304 2342962 45057 113 94 West Ham EPL 1417310 27256 2338844 44978 114 103 Houston Astros MLB 1413605 27185 2332731 44860 115 96 Calgary Flames NHL 1410498 27125 2327604 44762 116 148 Arizona Cardinals NFL 1410405 27123 2327451 44759 117 90 Green Bay Packers NFL 1402088 26963 2313725 44495 118 125 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 1391807 26766 2296759 44168 119 164 Tampa Bay Rays MLB 1388868 26709 2291911 44075 120 114 Indianapolis Colts NFL 1386641 26666 2288235 44005 121 113 Miami Dolphins NFL 1385453 26643 2286275 43967 122 108 Houston Texans NFL 1381888 26575 2280392 43854 123 165 Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga 1380595 26550 2278258 43813 124 75 Minnesota Vikings NFL 1378324 26506 2274510 43741 125 102 Baltimore Ravens NFL 1373571 26415 2266667 43590 126 138 Anaheim Ducks NHL 1364380 26238 2251500 43298 127 63 Newcastle EPL 1357295 26102 2239808 43073 128 115 Philadelphia Eagles NFL 1353371 26026 2233333 42949 129 95 New Jersey Devils NHL 1352382 26007 2231700 42917 130 129 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 1350663 25974 2228864 42863 131 74 New Orleans Saints NFL 1346242 25889 2221569 42722 132 127 Dallas Stars NHL 1336333 25699 2205217 42408 133 133 San Diego Chargers NFL 1329607 25569 2194118 42195 134 80 Seattle Seahawks NFL 1327231 25524 2190196 42119 135 168 Pittsburgh Pirates MLB 1325482 25490 2187310 42064 136 116 Minnesota Wild NHL 1312836 25247 2166442 41662 137 132 Blackburn EPL 1311509 25221 2164252 41620 138 146 Florida Panthers NHL 1295717 24918 2138192 41119 139 0 Nuremberg Bundesliga 1291892 24844 2131880 40998 140 141 Buffalo Bills NFL 1288020 24770 2125490 40875 141 155 Jacksonville Jaguars NFL 1273761 24495 2101961 40422 142 137 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 1247955 23999 2059375 39603 143 134 Fiorentina Serie A 1244543 23934 2053745 39495 144 150 Edmonton Oilers NHL 1233521 23722 2035556 39145 145 111 Cleveland Browns NFL 1232174 23696 2033333 39103 146 180 Kansas City Royals MLB 1230482 23663 2030541 39049 147 99 San Francisco 49ers NFL 1222668 23513 2017647 38801 148 140 New England Patriots NFL 1210192 23273 1997059 38405 149 79 Chicago Bears NFL 1209598 23261 1996078 38386 150 157 Denver Broncos NFL 1203657 23147 1986275 38198 151 145 Wolfsburg Bundesliga 1198642 23051 1977999 38038 152 172 San Diego Padres MLB 1195628 22993 1973025 37943 153 112 Atlanta Falcons NFL 1190587 22896 1964706 37783 154 169 Winnipeg Jets NHL 1189916 22883 1963600 37762 155 178 Stoke EPL 1182425 22739 1951237 37524 156 89 Ottawa Senators NHL 1175918 22614 1940500 37317 157 161 Tampa Bay Bucs NFL 1175140 22599 1939216 37293 158 170 Lazio Serie A 1166737 22437 1925350 37026 159 143 Nashville Predators NHL 1166059 22424 1924231 37004 160 171 Athletic Bilbao La Liga 1157231 22254 1909662 36724 161 156 St Louis Blues NHL 1155202 22215 1906314 36660 162 149 Kansas City Chiefs NFL 1138305 21890 1878431 36124 163 70 Washington Redskins NFL 1120482 21548 1849020 35558 164 107 Oakland Athletics MLB 1118501 21510 1845750 35495 165 152 Wigan EPL 1107821 21304 1828126 35156 166 179 Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga 1102140 21195 1818751 34976 167 131 Tennessee Titans NFL 1101471 21182 1817647 34955 168 147 Genoa Serie A 1095317 21064 1807493 34759 169 0 Kaiserslautern Bundesliga 1067753 20534 1762005 33885 170 173 Hoffenheim Bundesliga 1067138 20522 1760991 33865 171 154 Cologne Bundesliga 1066511 20510 1759956 33845 172 163 Celtic * SPL 1065304 20487 1757964 33807 173 177 Hannover 96 Bundesliga 1040069 20001 1716322 33006 174 0 Birmingham EPL 1036592 19934 1710585 32896 175 159 Borussia Monchengladbach Bundesliga 1020423 19624 1683902 32383 176 160 Napoli Serie A 1011577 19453 1669305 32102 177 0 Mainz Bundesliga 1009291 19409 1665531 32029 178 0 Zaragoza La Liga 1004964 19326 1658391 31892 179 0 St Pauli Bundesliga 1003707 19302 1656318 31852 180 185 West Bromwich Albion EPL 1000064 19232 1650305 31737 181 167 Colorado Avalanche NHL 999771 19226 1649821 31727 182 162 Villarreal La Liga 994812 19131 1641640 31570 183 188 Sampdoria Serie A 987458 18990 1629504 31337 184 144 Cincinnati Bengals NFL 957697 18417 1580392 30392 185 189 New York Islanders NHL 921185 17715 1520140 29233 186 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers EPL 887146 17061 1463969 28153 187 0 Freiburg Bundesliga 836167 16080 1379842 26535 188 181 Rangers SPL 821484 15798 1355612 26069 189 166 Palermo Serie A 748211 14389 1234698 23744 190 187 Espanyol La Liga 730883 14055 1206102 23194 191 196 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks * NPB 724013 13923 1194766 22976 192 183 Hanshin Tigers NPB 707976 13615 1168302 22467 193 192 Mallorca La Liga 675051 12982 1113970 21422 194 186 Yomiuri Giants NPB 670758 12899 1106885 21286 195 191 Bologna Serie A 643128 12368 1061291 20409 196 205 Udinese Serie A 642018 12346 1059458 20374 197 190 Catania Serie A 635979 12230 1049493 20183 198 0 Real Sociedad La Liga 634447 12201 1046964 20134 199 202 Getafe La Liga 626833 12054 1034400 19892 200 0 Parma Serie A 589060 11328 972067 18694 201 198 Chunichi Dragons NPB 588812 11323 971658 18686 202 0 Bari Serie A 557757 10726 920411 17700 203 184 Cagliari Serie A 534159 10272 881469 16951 204 210 Saitama Seibu Lions NPB 523308 10064 863563 16607 205 197 Osasuna La Liga 517709 9956 854323 16429 206 199 Racing Santander La Liga 502482 9663 829195 15946 207 203 Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters NPB 494972 9519 816803 15708 208 200 Deportiva La Coruna La Liga 484717 9321 799880 15382 209 208 Tokyo Yakult Swallows NPB 479280 9217 790908 15210 210 195 Lecce Serie A 478911 9210 790298 15198 211 207 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles NPB 472737 9091 780111 15002 212 209 Chiba Lotte Marine NPB 435949 8384 719403 13835 213 0 Blackpool EPL 435640 8378 718893 13825 214 206 Chievo Serie A 421441 8105 695463 13374 215 214 Malaga La Liga 421273 8101 695184 13369 216 0 Brescia Serie A 384170 7388 633957 12191 217 211 Yokohama Bay Stars NPB 375907 7229 620322 11929 218 0 Levante La Liga 350215 6735 577924 11114 219 222 LA Galaxy * MLS 336807 6477 555799 10688 220 221 Heart of Midlothian SPL 328104 6310 541437 10412 221 219 Orix Buffaloes NPB 322802 6208 532688 10244 222 218 New York Red Bulls MLS 320644 6166 529126 10176 223 220 Hiroshima Toyo Carp NPB 320617 6166 529082 10175 224 0 Hercules La Liga 304534 5856 502543 9664 225 223 Almeria La Liga 296921 5710 489979 9423 226 0 Cesena Serie A 253476 4875 418285 8044 227 229 Sporting Gijon La Liga 230664 4436 380642 7320 228 227 Toronto FC MLS 195103 3752 321959 6192 229 228 Hibernian SPL 172728 3322 285036 5481 230 225 Aberdeen SPL 156094 3002 257586 4954 231 0 Gold Coast * AFL 136690 2629 225565 4338 232 247 Dundee United SPL 130668 2513 215628 4147 233 230 Collingwood AFL 127508 2452 210413 4046 234 237 Kilmarnock SPL 125029 2404 206323 3968 235 232 Hawthorn AFL 123617 2377 203993 3923 236 231 Geelong AFL 123192 2369 203291 3909 237 239 West Coast Eagles AFL 123169 2369 203253 3909 238 241 Essendon AFL 122860 2363 202744 3899 239 238 Carlton AFL 122137 2349 201551 3876 240 244 Sydney Swans AFL 121462 2336 200436 3855 241 236 Fremantle AFL 121390 2334 200318 3852 242 240 St Kilda AFL 121227 2331 200049 3847 243 235 Richmond AFL 121214 2331 200027 3847 244 233 Adelaide Crows AFL 120630 2320 199063 3828 245 248 Motherwell SPL 120600 2319 199014 3827 246 242 Melbourne AFL 120520 2318 198882 3825 247 234 Brisbane Lions AFL 120256 2313 198447 3816 248 243 Port Adelaide AFL 119853 2305 197782 3804 249 246 North Melbourne AFL 119426 2297 197077 3790 250 245 Western Bulldogs AFL 118803 2285 196049 3770 251 270 Chivas USA MLS 108256 2082 178644 3435 252 251 St Mirren SPL 106380 2046 175548 3376 253 255 Seattle Sounders MLS 104850 2016 173024 3327 254 0 St Johnstone SPL 101916 1960 168182 3234 255 250 Philadelphia Union MLS 98310 1891 162232 3120 256 262 FC Dallas MLS 95375 1834 157387 3027 257 0 Vancouver Whitecaps MLS 90954 1749 150092 2886 258 259 Real Salt Lake MLS 90853 1747 149926 2883 259 0 Portland Timbers MLS 90604 1742 149515 2875 260 256 Houston Dynamo MLS 89614 1723 147882 2844 261 226 Chicago Fire MLS 88184 1696 145521 2798 262 257 DC United MLS 85631 1647 141307 2717 263 258 Colorado Rapids MLS 77237 1485 127457 2451 264 253 New England Revolution MLS 76235 1466 125802 2419 265 260 San Jose Earthquakes MLS 73205 1408 120802 2323 266 0 Montreal Impact MLS 71788 1381 118464 2278 267 254 Sporting Kansas City MLS 70771 1361 116786 2246 268 268 BC Lions * CFL 69946 1345 115425 2220 269 261 Edmonton Eskimos CFL 64163 1234 105881 2036 270 263 Winnipeg Blue Bombers CFL 63904 1229 105455 2028 271 271 Inverness Caledonian Thistle SPL 63540 1222 104854 2016 272 269 Hamilton Tiger-Cats CFL 62969 1211 103911 1998 273 266 Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL 59852 1151 98768 1899 274 267 Calgary Stampeders CFL 59663 1147 98456 1893 275 265 Toronto Argonauts CFL 59653 1147 98440 1893 276 264 Montreal Alouettes CFL 58270 1121 96157 1849 277 272 Hamilton SPL 55548 1068 91665 1763 278 252 Columbus Crew MLS 54156 1041 89369 1719

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