April 17 – In a week when financial fair play (FFP) came under renewed scrutiny, Manchester City have emerged as the best paid squad in global sport, according to a new study.
Research conducted by ESPN The Magazine and the Sportingintelligence website found the Abu Dhabi-backed Premier League title contenders pay an average annual wage of £5.3 million to its first-team players, which works out as £102,653 per week.
Six of the top 10 in the list are football clubs, with baseball (two) and basketball (two) also represented.
The top 10 are:
• Manchester City (PL) £5.337 million
• NY Yankees (MLB) £5.286 million
• LA Dodgers (MLB) £5.119 million
• Real Madrid (La Liga) £4.993 million
• Barcelona (La Liga) £4.901 million
• Brooklyn Nets (NBA) £4.485 million
• Bayern Munich (Bundesliga) £4.402 million
• Manchester United (PL) £4.322 million
• Chicago Bulls (NBA) £3.985 million
• Chelsea (PL) £3.984 million
City have been widely reported as one of the clubs being closely watched by UEFA over a possible breach of its FFP rules.
UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body’s (CFCB) investigatory chamber, headed by former Belgium prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, met for two days this week to draw up a list of clubs under threat of sanction for falling foul of break-even regulations.
UEFA is expected to name any clubs still in breach early next month, followed by potential sanctions in June.
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