The Highest Salaries In World Football In 2018

The money in football has reached obscene levels in recent years, with some players now earning more per week than it takes the majority of the British public to earn in ten years.

Transfer fees, agents and multi-million pound contracts have made the sport one of the most lucrative in the world.

In England alone, the Premier League is a £4.5 billion business.

We take a look at the highest salaries per team in world football, the top three biggest spenders aren't as obvious as you would think.

27. FC Schalke 04- £2,128,522

The average player at Schalke earns £2,128,522 a year, an incredible amount for a club who haven't won the Bundesliga since 1958.

Domenico Tedesco's team improved last season, finishing second behind Bayern Munich but have had an indifferent start to the 2018/19 season.

26. Marseille - £2,133,900

Like the rest of Ligue 1, Marseille have the yearly battle of attempting to stop PSG from winning the league.

With Dimitri Payet, Florian Thauvin and Kevin Strootman in the squad, the Marseille owners are definitely getting the right players in, but at a cost.

25. Bayer Leverkusen - £2,218,840

Leverkusen have the unfortunate task of trying to compete with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund for top spot in Germany.

In a bid to contend with the German elite, Leverkusen have had to warn off rivals bidding for their top players, by offering big contracts.

With Jamaican star Leon Bailey soon to be demanding a bigger contract, the club's average pay will increase considering.

24. Southampton - £2,669,333

It's crazy to think that in all the world's football teams, Southampton are the 24th biggest spenders.

Considering the average player earns £2,669,333 a week, relegation could have serious implications on the club.

With just one win all season, Southampton are in deep danger of being relegated from the Premier League this year.

23. Leicester City - £2,710,710

The 2016 champions were able to keep hold of the majority of their title winning squad, except for N'golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater.

But in order to do that, players like Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel were able to negotiate huge new contracts.

22. Crystal Palace - £2,757,000

Like Southampton, it is baffling to learn that Crystal Palace are in the top 25 of the biggest wage spenders in world football.

Roy Hodgson has had a tough task of keeping Wilfried Zaha in his team in the last 12 months.

The Ivorian signed a bumper four-year contract worth £110,000 a week.

21. Sevilla - £2,776,461 A Year

The current La Liga leaders have had more success in Europe than in their domestic competitions in recent season, so will be hoping the 2018-19 season can bring them their first league title since 1946.

Thanks to back-to-back Europa League titles between 2014-16 their players have been able to demand higher wages and the average player makes £2,776,461.

20. Napoli - £2,820,938 A Year

With players like Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Marek Hamsik, Napoli are a dominant force in Italian football.

Thanks to three consecutive top three finishes, their top players have seen their wages increase in recent years.

The team's average weekly pay is £54,249 a week.

19. Roma - £2,842,212

Like Napoli, Roma have a number of big names in their squad, including Edin Dzeko who is currently this season's top Champions League goal scorer.

With a weekly average salary of £54,658, the Bosnian and his team mates are being rewarded for their regular appearances in Europe's biggest club competition.

18. Valencia - £2,861,015

Valencia have gained a reputation as La Liga's most inconsistent team in recent seasons, but had their best season for six years when they finished fourth last year.

As a team, their average weekly salary is £55,020 a week.

17. West Ham - £3,189,333

If you're a West Ham it's probably quite worrying to find out that your team's wages are the 17th highest in world football.

New signing Felipe Anderson is reportedly on £150,000 a week, with the team's average at £61,333 a week.

16. Borussia Dortmund - £3,206,769

Dortmund have produced some seriously talented players in the last decade but have sometimes struggled to keep a hold of their top talent.

However, with Marco Reus on a reported £160,000 a week, Dortmund's owners are making sure their top players are satisfied with their current contracts, in a bid to warn off future interest.

For example, England's Jadon Sancho signed a contract extension after making an incredible start to this season.

15. Everton - £3,252,690

Just like West Ham fans, the Everton faithful will be worried to see their team's salaries are so high.

But with the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Richarlison and Jordon Pickford in their ranks, you can probably understand why.

14. Tottenham Hotspur - £3,515,778

With an infamously tight wage structure, Tottenham find themselves as 14th biggest spenders.

It will be interesting to see in the coming months if Spurs chairman Daniel Levy can persuade the team's top players to stay, with expected interesting coming from elsewhere.

Harry Kane is the club's highest paid with £200,000 a week, but he could arguably earn double that if he decided to move to Manchester.

13. AC Milan - £3,550,172

Sadly AC Milan aren't the dominant force they once were and have failed to qualify for the Champions League for the last five seasons.

But with Gonzalo Higuain now at the club their wage bill has increased so much, they will be desperate to qualify for next year's competition.

12. Inter Milan - £3,706,739

With Croatian stars Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic behind Argentinian Mauro Icardi, Inter are a force to be reckoned with in both Serie A and Europe.

Boasting a squad that has world class quality in all positions can be expensive, the average player earns £71,283 a week.

11. Arsenal - £4,853,130

In a bid to return to Champions League football, Arsenal have broke the bank to secure signings like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in recent seasons.

The Gabon international is reportedly on £198,000 a week, with fellow striker Alexandre Lacazette on £200,000 and Mesut Ozil receiving a whopping £300,000 a week.

10. Liverpool - £4,862,963

Jurgen Klopp's have never been better placed to make a serious charge at the Premier League title.

The free-scoring Reds will be hoping their front three of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane can bring them home some silverware this season.

Egyptian talisman Salah is on £200,000 a week.

9. Chelsea - £5,020,004

Since Roman Abramovich took over in 2003, Chelsea have been the biggest spenders in the Premier League transfer market.

With Eden Hazard on the books with a £200,000 a week salary, they have one of the biggest wage bills in the league.

8. Manchester City - £5,993,000

It is well known that the Premier League leaders have one of the biggest wage bills in the English game.

The squad is full of millionaires, with the lowest wage £65,000 a week (Ederson and Laporte), with Kevin De Bruyne on the biggest with a whopping £350,000 a week.

7. Paris Saint Germain - £6,105,840

Surprisingly PSG are just 7th in the list.

The French champions have spent some serious cash in recent seasons in an attempt to win the Champions League for the first time in their history.

You just have to look at the weekly wages of Kylian Mbappe (€300,000) and Neymar (€500,000) to question how they get away with strict UEFA financial fair play rules.

6. Atletico Madrid - £6,155,066

Like Borussia Dortmund, Atletico have had issues with keeping their top talent in recent years.

However they have been able to keep Frenchman Antoine Griezmann on their books, but at a price.

The striker is on €390,000 a week!

5. Bayern Munich - £6,352,435

Serial Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have dominated the German game, especially in the transfer market.

Thanks to their regular success they are able to pay the biggest wages and attract the best players.

4. Manchester United- £6,534,654

Jose Mourinho's United are the biggest spenders in the Premier League, with the average player on £125,666 a week!

Alexis Sanchez, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku are on £840,000 between them.

3. Juventus - £6,726,615

The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in Italy has raised the expectations of the nearly men finally winning the Champions League.

It is rumoured that Ronaldo himself is on €575,000 a week!

2. Real Madrid - £8,089,582

Real Madrid have been at the top of world football for many years and thanks to winning three consecutive Champions Leagues can buy any player they want.

Despite selling Ronaldo to Juventus, the Galacticos are the second highest group of players in the world.