Football is a more than just kicking a round leather, scoring goals or supporting a team, there is more than meets the eye in putting details together to make a strong football team and an active football fan base.
The business side of football is getting much traction and attention that it used to be as football players now command more value in terms of image right, sponsorship, partnership and more.
All of these data and figures make up the worth of the team and its ability to attract investors depending on the agenda and intention of the club.
A closer look at wage bills in some of the top clubs will reveal a huge chunk of income going into servicing player’s wage per week or per month depending on the contract or terms of agreement.
Spanish giant Barcelona still boast the biggest wage bill in Europe despite their efforts to trim down on salary.
The club’s financial situation is public knowledge with some of the club officials openly admitting the need to cut down on wages, with major behind the scenes moves to drastically reduce expenses.
However, according to UEFA’s European Club Finance and Investment Landscape report, Barcelona still have the biggest wage bill in Europe, sitting at €639m.
That figure is marginally ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, whose salaries in 2023 tallied up to €617m.
Manchester City come in third on the standings with a wage bill of €554m, and there is significant distance between the top three and the rest of the teams in the final 20.
At €453m, Real Madrid come in with the fourth-biggest wage bill, and Liverpool round out the top five with €429m.
Bayern Munich’s 2023 spend saw a cool €416m used for wages. Chelsea are seventh on the standings with €397m but the Blues’ data is from 2022 and may not be entirely accurate compared to their current wage budget.
Despite having the most expensive squad in history, Manchester United’s wage bill sits at just €381m, and there’s a big drop down to Tottenham Hotspur at €381m.
Juventus complete the top ten with €283m.
Arsenal’s budget of €270m gets them into 11th on the standings and there is further representation from the Premier League with Aston Villa (€223m), Newcastle United (€215m) and Everton (€191m).
Shockingly, in 16th place sit Leicester City, who were relegated from the Premier League last season.
The Foxes had a wage bill of €215m when the data was recorded but that was not enough to save them from the drop.
