Manchester City have become the best paid sports team in the world after leapfrogging Barcelona and Real Madrid for this year’s top spot.
Since billionaire Sheik Mansour’s takeover in 2008, City have become a global force on and off the football pitch, with the average wage of a first-team player rising to a whopping £5.2million a year.
City’s sky-high earners such as Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez are part of the highest paid sports team in the world, with an average weekly wage for a member of the first-team squad reaching a staggering £100,764, more than £7,000 higher than second-placed baseball side LA Dodgers’ average.
In a survey conducted by Sportingintelligence’s Global Sports Salaries Survey (GSSS) for 2013, compiled in association with ESPN The Magazine, two other Premier League clubs feature in the top 12 alongside City.
City’s bitter Manchester rivals United were placed in 12th on the list with a £3.9m average annual pay per year (£75,423 per week) and Chelsea dropped from fourth in last year’s survey to eighth, with an average annual pay of £4.1m (£78,053 per week).
La Liga giants Real Madrid (3) and Barcelona (4) follow one another on the list, both with an average annual pay of around £4.7m (£90,500 per week).
Barca and Real occupied Nos 1 and 2 in last year’s survey, but their fall is in part put down to the waning strength of the euro.
Serie A sides Milan (6) and Inter (10) are both high in the standings, with Champions League winners Bayern Munich (9) representing the Bundesliga.
There are three baseball teams in the top twelve and one basketball team. MLB teams the Dodgers (2), the New York Yankees (5) and the Philadelphia Phillies (11) all taking their places.
The presence of both the Yankees and City on the list shows the combined financial clout of the two franchises, just weeks after the two brands launched joint venture New York City, a new Major League Soccer side based in the Big Apple.
The sole representative of the NBA in the top 12 are basketball team the LA Lakers, who are placed seventh on the list. The average of the Lakers is propped up by superstars such as Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol.
Figures used in the survey are from the 2012-13 seasons in the NBA, NHL and NFL seasons and for seasons completed during or at the end of 2012 in other leagues.
The report features average wage information from the 12 most popular sports leagues in the world (based on average attendance).
The leagues are the NFL, Bundesliga, Premier League, AFL, MLB, La Liga, CFL, NPB, Serie A, IPL, NHL and NBA.
| Rank (Last year’s position) | Team | Sport | Average annual pay £ (Average weekly pay) | Average annual pay $ (Average weekly pay) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (3) | Manchester City | Football | £5,239,750 (£100,764) | $8,059,477 ($154,990) |
| 2 (69) | Los Angeles Dodgers | Baseball | £4,855,783 (£93,380) | $7,468,882 ($143,632) |
| 3 (2) | Real Madrid | Football | £4,718,172 (£90, 734) | $7,257,216 ($139,562) |
| 4 (1) | Barcelona | Football | £4,690,430 ($90,201) | $7,214,545 ($138,741) |
| 5 (6) | New York Yankees | Baseball | £4,649,188 ($89,407) | $7,151,109 ($137,521) |
| 6 (7) | Milan | Football | £4,251,111 (£81,752) | $6,538,811 ($125,746) |
| 7 (5) | LA Lakers | Basketball | £4,090,742 (£78,671) | $6,292,403 ($121,008) |
| 8 (4) | Chelsea | Football | £4,058,742 (£78,053) | $6,242,919 ($120,056) |
| 9 (8) | Bayern Munich | Football | £4,000,036 (£76,924) | $6,152,622 ($118,320) |
| 10 (10) | Inter Milan | Football | £4,000,000 (£76,923) | $6,152,566 ($118,319) |
| 11 (9) | Philadelphia Phillies | Baseball | £3,982,336 (£76,583) | $6,125,397 ($117,796) |
| 12 (11) | Manchester United | Football | £3,921,987 (£75,423) | $6,032,572 ($116,011) |
Source: Daily Mail
