October 2 – Real Madrid have been revealed as the team with the highest wage bill in world football, sat at a staggering €11.5 million annual salary average, according to data supplied by Capology.
Amongst the star-studded player roster, top earners include long-term midfield asset Toni Kroos (€24 million), Austrian defender David Alaba (€22.5 million), Ballon d’or winner Luka Modric (€21.8 million) and shiny new 20-year-old star Jude Bellingham (€20 million).
Across the 23 registered first team players, the average weekly wage is over €221,000.
Nine Real Madrid players signed new or first contracts at the club in summer 2023, including top earner Kroos, which has seen a huge 90% increase from last season, when the average player salary amounted to about €6 million.
Fuelled by a plethora of big-money summer incomings, Bayern Munich sit second on the list after a 109% increase in the wage bill. Most notably, English Striker Harry Kane has immediately become the Bavarian’s best-paid player at €25 million a year, and with 11 goal involvements in six games for the German champions already looks like a good investment.
Paris Saint-Germain, who topped the salary chart in 2022/23, dropped to third place this season, boasting €9.4 million in average player salary. Regardless, the Ligue1 champions have still witnessed a considerable increase from an average €6.7 million per player the club paid last season, despite the absence of high-earner Neymar in this year’s Capology wage list after the Brazilian moved to Al-Ahli in the summer.
Manchester City and Barcelona round the top five list, with €8.9 million and €7.8 million in average player salaries, respectively.
PSG still have the highest-paid player in European football, Kylian Mbappe, whose base contract sees him earn €1.38 million each week, more than triple any other Parisian player, alongside a €60 million loyalty bonus.
Despite losing out to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in regards to the highest average player salary, PSG hold the title of largest wage bill due to having a larger squad, paying €5.4 million each week to its players. Real Madrid follows with €5.1 million in weekly player expenses, considerably more than €2.6 million the club was paying the previous season.
Manchester City and Barcelona round the top five list, with €8.9 million and €7.8 million in average player salary, respectively.
Capology data also reveals that Arsenal experienced the most substantial growth in average player salaries among the top ten football clubs. In the previous season, the Premier League team paid an average of €2.8 million to its first-team players. This amount skyrocketed by 164% in a season-over-season comparison, soaring to €7.5 million in the 2023/24 season.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1715019853labto1715019853ofdlr1715019853owedi1715019853sni@g1715019853niwe.1715019853yrrah1715019853