MARCA has been given access to these figures and the results are very revealing: Spain's top flight (Liga BBVA) wage bill could be as high as €1.28bn, if every club paid as much as they are allowed.

However, the gap is abysmal. Barcelona lead Real Madrid by almost €20m and can afford the highest wages. They have the most disposable income, which could be used to pay off contracts for example. This speaks highly of Barça's financial health, which as well as an excellent balance between their income and expenditure, boasts a very healthy set of accounts and assets which allow them to offset the financial constraints imposed by the Professional Football League (LPF). Despite being second in this table, Real Madrid are in the same boat and have done all of their financial homework.

This does not mean that Real Madrid and Barcelona have no debts, just that their balance sheets, under the current LPF guidelines are excellent, and they generate enough income to handle their debts.

La Liga's two fat cats are followed by a group of challengers made up of Atlético, Sevilla and Valencia, although the gap is again huge: over €220m. Athletic de Bilbao, on €50m, lead La Liga's middle classes, and despite their mid-table position, they are leaps and bounds ahead of bottom of the table, which is propped up by Almería, followed by Elche and Eibar.