European football clubs paid 7.3 billion a year in players' wages during 2016. Almost half of that expenditure, approximately 42%, corresponds to Premier League teams and nine teams in England's top flight make it into the top 20. However, the team with the highest wages is FC Barcelona with a figure of €372 million in payments to players. That is €65 more than Real Madrid, who sit third in the list. Sandwiched between the top Spanish giants is Manchester United, who make €689 million and spend €321 million on wages according to Club Licensing Benchmarking from UEFA.

Barcelona's expenditure, which grew by 9% from the previous year, is 60% of the club's revenue and 5.2 times the LaLiga average. That differential cna be explained by Leo Messi's renewal as the Argentine earns €104 million gross per year including variables.

Real Madrid, who spend 4.3 times the average of their domestic rivals, saw their expenditure in this area grow by 6% and almost 49% of their total income. Atlético Madrid saw their payroll grow by 31% and with spending of €137 in this area, they spend 60% of their incomeon players' wages. Atlético spend 1.9 times the average in Spain.