Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester City: Which team has the biggest wage bill in European football?
Paris Saint-Germain’s signing of Lionel Messi contributed to the club setting a new record for the biggest wage bill in European football history last season.
The French champions paid their players and staff €728m (£642m) in 2021-22, a year-on-year increase of 45 per cent, according to a new report by advisory Football Benchmark.
It followed the transfer of Argentina superstar and seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi from Barcelona in summer 2021.
Messi is reported to earn €63m (£56m) a year, while the arrival of other big names, including Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma, also increased PSG’s wage bill.
PSG’s wage bill was by far the biggest among the winners of Europe’s biggest domestic leagues, the Football Benchmark report reveals.
Real Madrid were a distant second on €519m (£458m) after their salary costs rose 29 per cent in part as a result of bonuses paid for winning the Champions League.
Premier League winners Manchester City’s wage bill was €418m (£369m), up four per cent year on year.
But while City reported a €49m (£43m) profit on operating revenues of €731m (£645m), PSG suffered a record net loss of €369m (£326m), despite growing revenue to €670m (£591m).
Messi is reported to be only PSG’s second highest earner, with France forward Kylian Mbappe overtaking him after signing a lucrative new contract last summer.
Brazil star Neymar is also believed to earn around €50m a year.
Messi’s contract is due to expire this summer but the Qatar-owned club hope to tie him to a new deal following his success with Argentina at the World Cup last month.
PSG’s owners, meanwhile, are interested in buying a stake in Tottenham Hotspur or another Premier League club.
Qatar Sport Investments plan to increase their network of clubs in 2023, having taken a minority stake in Portuguese side Braga last year.