Barcelona wages reach record high, United highest in Premier League
What's the story
Barcelona have set a record in terms of wages paid to the first team members, with the figure reaching a mind-boggling £10 million per annum on an average, for the 23-man senior team. This amount doesn't take into account any add-on bonuses and has seen a massive jump of 33% since last season. Signing of players like Coutinho, Vidal, Malcom has boosted the figure.
Reason
What has led to this huge increase?
It can be conjectured that the signing of players like Dembele, Malcom, Coutinho, and Arturo Vidal among others is responsible for the sudden boost in salaries of the Barcelona players. Further, new contracts made for Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, Sergi Roberto, Samuel Umtiti and Sergio Busquets also contributed to the massive rise in the salaries, of this season.
Others
Who are the other leaders in terms of salaries?
Barcelona's arch-rivals, Real Madrid, are second in terms of the amount disbursed to first team players. On an average, Real Madrid's player's salary is £8.1 million per annum. Up next, there are NBA teams which take the next six spots on this list. Manchester United (£6.53 million) are the highest-paying EPL club whereas after signing Ronaldo, Juventus have jumped from 32nd to 9th spot.
Observation
Football is raining money, pressure building on fans
From being the working man's sport, football has now become one of the most profitable ventures in the world. This has been because of the superstardom which footballers have achieved in this day of excessive exposure. While ticket prices keep increasing, and costlier TV deals are being etched, certain footballers and clubs are earning excessively while ones in the lower rungs bite the dust.