Liverpool FC's record-breaking accounts showed that the club's wage bill rocketed by 26.4% to £263million.

For the 12 months to the end of May 2018, the Reds spent around 57.8% of their £455million turnover on salaries.

That hefty increase led to reports that Liverpool had leapfrogged Manchester City (£260million) into second place behind Manchester United (£296million) in the table of Premier League wages.

However, those claims don't stand up to scrutiny when you look at the figures. The reality is that it's not comparing like for like.

Read the full breakdown of Liverpool's 2018 accounts here

James Pearce explains Liverpool's record-breaking financial results

Liverpool currently employ in excess of 800 staff across the club's different departments who are all included in the latest set of accounts.

In contrast, City's annual wage bill of £260million only includes 449 members of staff - 210 on the football side and 239 in commercial and administration.

That figure is much lower than Liverpool's because elements of City's business are outsourced.

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It's also understood that a number of significant salaries at City are paid by the City Football Group, the holding company that administers all the global clubs under the ownership of Abu Dhabi United Group.

Back in November, German magazine Der Spiegel alleged that City had previously sought to circumvent UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules by secretly setting up a shell company to pay players for their image rights. They claimed that it took millions of pounds off the City wage bill and enabled the club to announce a £26million boost in income for selling the marketing rights.

City dismissed the allegations as an “organised and clear” attempt to damage their reputation.

The 26.4% leap in Liverpool's wage bill from £208million to £263million for the 12 months to May 2018 is partly explained by the signings of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain during that period.

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The big increase in expenditure on salaries by owners Fenway Sports Group is designed to ensure that Liverpool not only attract but also retain the best talent in world football.

The rise in the Reds' wage bill is in line with the increase in overall club revenues, which climbed by 25% from £364million to £455million.

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Of the three main revenue streams, media increased by £66million to £220million, commercial was up by £17million to £154million and matchday received a £7million boost to £81million as Liverpool recorded a pre-tax profit of £125million (£106million after tax).