In the 2020/2021 season, FC Barcelona had the highest average annual pay per player with approximately 11 million euros. Real Madrid followed closely behind, with average wages amounting to nearly 10 million euros in the same season.

Soccer players’ salaries

Professional footballers playing in the most competitive leagues globally can earn millions throughout their career. For example, best-paid players in La Liga can make more than two million euros per month. Looking at wages and bonuses alone, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard were among the highest earning soccer players worldwide in 2021.

Spanish soccer market

In addition to the fervor that soccer creates amongst spectators of the sport, the industry also generates a lot of money. For instance, the Spanish Football Association reported nearly two billion euros in revenue in the 2020/21 season, with broadcasting rights accounting for around 90 percent of that amount. FC Barcelona topped the charts when it came to revenue earned from Spanish soccer clubs’ television broadcasting rights.

The average under-23 player in the La Liga football league earns 1.15 million British pounds per year in basic pay. This average salary is seen to increase with age, with 23-29 and 30-plus year old players earning an average of 1.91 and 2.58 million British pounds respectively. Within each age group there is significant positional variability, with forwards and midfielders typically earning more than goalkeepers and defenders.

Frankie de Jong is the highest-paid footballer in the Spanish top-tier soccer league during the 2023/2024 season. The FC Barcelona player is set to earn nearly 38 million euros in that season. Two Real Madrid players followed in the second place of the ranking.

In the summer transfer period for the 2023/2024 season of La Liga, Real Madrid was allowed to spend up to roughly 727.5 million euros on salaries, setting the highest spending limit among the 20 soccer teams in the Spanish top-tier soccer league in that season. Atlético de Madrid had the second-highest salary cap, while the FC Barcelona ranked third with a limit of 270 million euros.

The salary cap, known as ‘límite de coste de la plantilla deportiva (LCPD)’ in Spain, is approved by La Liga based on a proposal for the upcoming season given by each club. To calculate the final amount, the clubs’ expected revenues and their non-sport expenses are considered.

FC Barcelona: struggling financially?

The FC Barcelona’s net profit in 2022/2023 was the highest recorded since over one decade, surpassing 350 million euros. Versus the previous season, this represented an increase of 260 percent. Meanwhile, the Spanish club’s operating revenue also reached a record of 1.26 billion euros. Nonetheless, FC Barcelona lost one spot in the annual salary cap ranking in the 2023/2024 season.

La Liga’s transfer spending

With total transfer fees amounting to over 700 million euros in the 2023 season, the Spanish soccer market’s spending remained below pre-pandemic levels, though significantly higher than in 2020 and 2021. In those years, this spending dropped more than 63 percent and 76 percent versus 2019, reaching the lowest spending since 2013. Behind the English Premier League, La Liga is the second most valuable soccer market among European leagues.

In 2022/23, clubs in the Premier League spent more on wages than any other league in Europe's Big Five, with wage costs totaling over 4.6 billion euros. By comparison, clubs in La Liga spent a combined total of nearly 2.5 billion euros.

With each player taking home a handsome 8.32 million U.S. dollars every year, the NBA is the professional sports league with the highest player wages worldwide. In second place is the Indian Premier League, an annual cricket competition contested each year between eight franchises representing eight different Indian cities.

Big money in the NBA Although the wages that players in the NBA take home are astronomical, the average annual salaries vary from one team to another. Whilst the New York Knicks pay their players an average of 7.08 million U.S. dollars a year, Portland Trail Blazers spent around 10.04 million U.S. dollars annually on each of their stars in 2019/20. NBA salaries have tremendously increased throughout the years reaching 8.32 million U.S. dollars in 2019/20 compared to 4.6 million U.S. dollars in 2015/16.

Earning a weekly salary of 450,000 euros in 2020, Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Júnior, better known as Oscar from Shanghai SIPG was the highest paid soccer player in the Chinese Super League. Globally, Lionel Messi ranked first with 96 million euros per year before taxes in 2020. Cristiano Ronaldo followed as second with 54 million euros, while Oscar took the tenth spot with 24 million euro.

Chinese top tier soccer league

The Chinese Super League (CSL), China’s premier professional soccer league, has contributed significantly to the booming sports industry. Since its introduction in 2004, the League has attracted millions of spectators to live matches and received over 300 million yuan in sponsorships each year from the likes of Shell, DHL, and Nike. In recent years, CSL has paid record-breaking fees for top player transfers, an act in line with the national goal - making China a global soccer powerhouse by 2030.

The soccer craze in China

In a country with 200 million soccer fans, football marketing is a thriving business in China. A 2019 survey found that the majority of Chinese soccer fans were inclined to pay for sports streaming platforms. Almost 74 percent of football enthusiasts streamed football matches at least once a week. Apart from CSL, Chinese fans closely follow the English Premier League, the UEFA Champions League, and the Spanish La Liga.

In the 2019 Japanese Soccer League (J1) season, the average annual player salary for the first team squad of Vissel Kobe amounted to approximately 1.57 million U.S. dollars. The team is headquartered in Kobe, a city in central Japan located in Hyogo prefecture, and plays its home games from the Kobe City Misaki Park Stadium (also known as Noevir Stadium Kobe). Vissel Kobe was the best-paid team in Japan’s first soccer division (J-1) by a considerable amount in the 2019 season. Soccer vs. Baseball In countries with major sports leagues in soccer or baseball, usually one of the sports has established a dominant position in terms of popularity and market size, such as Major league Baseball (MLB) in the United States, or the Premier League in the United Kingdom. In the case of Japan, this dominance seemed to be less pronounced. The balance appeared to tip in favor of the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB) when looking at it from a monetary perspective, as the average annual player salaries of baseball players were in general higher than soccer players' salaries. The one notable exception was Vissel Kobe, which remunerated its players more generously than the highest paying baseball teams in Japan. In terms of popularity, both sports received similar viewer ratings on TV, while baseball pulled ahead in terms of venue attendance. International comparison of average soccer player salaries Vissel Kobe’s average annual player salary in the 2019 season seemed disproportionately high, especially when compared to other J1 teams’ paychecks. Compared to player salaries in other soccer leagues such as the Premier League in the United Kingdom, La Liga in Spain, or Bundesliga in Germany, the salaries of J1 players were still somewhat moderate. Vissel Kobe was the only team paying an average player salary of more than one million U.S. dollars per year. In the Premier League, for instance, an average player salary of more than one million U.S. dollars was the norm rather than the exception.

As one of the biggest sports leagues in America with TV viewers reaching into the millions, Major League Baseball can afford to pay its players handsomely. The average salary for a player in the MLB stood at 4.98 million U.S. dollars in 2024. This marks a twofold increase on the average salary in 2005. Highs and lows of MLB salaries While the stars of every MLB team take home millions every year, there is still a minimum player salary in place to ensure that all players are compensated for their efforts. The 2024 MLB minimum player salary was set at 740 thousand U.S. dollars, a significant increase on the minimum of 300 thousand U.S. dollars in 2003. The league’s top earners The highest earner in the MLB in 2024 was the starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani. The three-time All-Star took home an annual base salary of 70 million U.S. dollars in the 2024 season. Due to their prominent role on the team, it is unsurprising that a majority of the top earners in the MLB were pitchers.  

American professional sports leagues are known for their high wages, and the National Hockey League is no different. In the 2019/20 season, the Minnesota Wild topped the table for average annual player salaries, giving each of its players an average of 3.32 million U.S. dollars. On the other end of the scale, players for the Toronto Maple Leafs took home an average of 1.54 million U.S. dollars during the season.

NHL minimum salary A minimum salary is in place in the National Hockey League to ensure that the players are fairly compensated for their endeavors. This minimum wage stood at 650 thousand U.S. dollars in 2019, a steady increase from the 500 thousand U.S. dollars minimum salary in place in 2011. Even though the LA Kings had the highest average salary in 2019, it was the Washington Capitals who topped the league for player expenses. The Capitals spent 85 million U.S. dollars on player expenses in 2018, whilst the Carolina Hurricanes spent the lowest in the league at 62 million U.S. dollars. The league-wide average payroll for the 2017/18 season stood at 75.35 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 25 million U.S. dollars on the figure from ten years before.

Highest paid players in the NHL The highest paid player in the NHL is the captain of the Edmonton Oilers and Canadian national team player, Connor McDavid. The 22-year old pocketed 19 million U.S. dollars in 2019, of which 15 million U.S. dollars came from his salary and a further four million was generated through endorsements. However, the honor of being the player who commands the highest salary in the league belongs to John Tavares - the Toronto Maple Leafs player had a yearly salary of 15.9 million U.S. dollars.

American professional sports leagues are known for paying their players handsomely and Major League Baseball is no different. The highest earner in the MLB in 2024 was the starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani. The three-time All-Star took home a base salary of 70 million U.S. dollars in the 2024 season. MLB salaries The MLB has both a minimum player salary and a competitive balance tax (also called Luxury Tax) in place to ensure the league remains competitive and that no single team can buy its way to victory. In 2024, the minimum player salary stood at 740 thousand U.S. dollars, a generous increase from the minimum salary of 500 thousand U.S. dollars ten years earlier. However, because of the astronomical earnings of some of the star players in the league, the average player salary across the MLB was 4.98 million U.S. dollars in 2024. If a team’s payroll exceeds a certain figure, they are forced to pay a luxury tax in order to discourage the largest teams from buying the best players in the league. In 2024, this payroll cap was 237 million U.S. dollars. MLB revenue on the up In 2024, teams of Major League Baseball generated around 378.13 million U.S. dollars on average in revenue per team. The New York Yankees sat top of the pile as the franchise generated revenue of 679 million U.S. dollars. On the other end of the scale, the Oakland Athletics had revenue of 241 million U.S. dollars in 2024.

Real Madrid Football Club reported a net finance loss of more than three million euros in the twelve month period ended on June 30, 2022. In the previous season, the famous Spanish soccer club experienced a similar annual loss. In the depicted years, 2014/2015 was the most difficult for Real Madrid's finances, with net losses amounting to approximately eight million euros.

The impressive wage budgets of Spanish soccer clubs

The two leading Spanish soccer squads, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, are worldwide known due to their success in championships and the hefty salaries of their players. In 2013, La Liga —the highest men’s soccer division in Spain— introduced a salary limit for its member teams based on their annual revenue, costs, and debt from the previous season. Real Madrid had the highest salary cap for the season 2020/2021, surpassing FC Barcelona’s by more than 80 million euros. Gareth Bale was the best-paid Real Madrid player and one of the top 10 worldwide in 2021.

Real Madrid’s fandom in Spain

Challenging the most immediate guess, the Community of Madrid does not host the highest number of Real Madrid fan clubs in Spain. It is Andalusia, located in the south of the country, that takes the top place, with 467 official clubs as of mid-2020. Castile-La Mancha and Extremadura also outranked the team’s home region, which in that same year counted 219 fan clubs.

In 2022/23, Premier League clubs collectively generated nearly seven billion euros in revenue - significantly more than any other league in Europe's Big Five. This has been forecast to rise to around 7.5 billion euros in the 2024/25 season. Which club has won the most Premier League titles? The Premier League is the highest tier of professional soccer in England. The clubs with the most English league titles are Manchester United and Liverpool, each lifting the trophy on 20 occasions. Liverpool won the league most recently in 2024/25 under Arne Slot. Which player has won the Premier League the most? Given the Red Devils’ success in the Premier League, it is not surprising that the player who has won the Premier League the most times is a United club legend. Throughout his career, Ryan Giggs won the Premier League 13 times. The next highest-ranked player was Paul Scholes, who also played for Manchester United.

Manchester City generated more revenue than any other Premier League club in 2023/24, with the Citizens' total revenue amounting to 719 million British pounds. This was more than five times the revenue of the league's lowest-earning club. Meanwhile, Manchester United's revenue totaled 662 million British pounds.