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Being a professional footballer means your job comes under heavy scrutiny. The levels that need to be reached on a regular basis is unreal and the pressure can be overwhelming. Consequently, football players are also some of the highest paid individuals in the world.
To field some of the finest talents in the world, football clubs have to dish out a lot of money. It's a circle and the best that the clubs can hope for is that the money pumped into paying the player salaries translate to great performances on the football pitch which would then pay dividends in terms of sponsorship deals and prize money.
Obviously, some of the biggest clubs in Europe also have the highest wage bills. Let's take a look at five football clubs with the highest wage bills in Europe.
#5 Bayern Munich - €144 million
Given how dominant Bayern Munich are currently in Europe, it should come as no surprise that Bayern Munich also foots one of the highest wage bills in the footballing world. The Bavarians have some of the best youngsters and experienced players in the continent on their payroll.
Bayern Munich's highest earner is Leroy Sane who earns £385,000 per week. He is followed by the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller who all earn in excess of £250,000 per week.
They recently got Coutinho off their payroll as he returned to Barcelona after his loan spell and that has eased up some funds. However, they still hold on to a wealth of top talent and youngsters and their wage bill is only expected to go higher.
#4 Manchester United - €179 million
The Red Devils might be inconsistent on the pitch but they have been consistently fielding very expensive teams for a very long time now. Manchester United have looked like they are world beaters in one moment and then bang-average in the very next.
However, with the likes of David de Gea and Paul Pogba on their payroll, it is no real surprise that they feature among the teams with the highest wage bills in Europe. Manchester United have been infamous for overpaying some mediocre players of late and this has now come to bite them in the back.
The likes of Harry Maguire, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are also high earners. However, they will all need to up their productivity on the football pitch if they're to justify their salaries.
#3 Juventus - €236 million
Juventus have been famous for investing wisely in the transfer window and have benefitted greatly from diving into the free-agent market on several occasions in the recent past. They have used the money they saved up through striking such smart deals for paying the exorbitant wages of several high-profile stars.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest earner at Juventus. The Portuguese legend earns close to €1 million per week. He earns almost four times as much as the club's second-highest earner Paulo Dybala.
The likes of Wojciech Szczesny and Matthijs De Ligt earn in excess of €200,000 a week. In addition to that, players like Alvaro Morata, Aaron Ramsey, Rabiot, Bonucci and Alex Sandro earn more than €150,000 per week.
It is no surprise then that Juventus are among the top three teams with the highest wage bills in Europe.
#2 Real Madrid - €238 million
Real Madrid and their obsession with Galactico signings seem to have faded recently but that hasn't reflected clearly on their wage bill. They still have several superstars on their payroll and currently foot the second highest wage bill in Europe.
The likes of Eden Hazard, Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Marcelo and Toni Kroos all reportedly earn in excess of €300,000 per week. No other team pays so many players that kind of money on a weekly basis.
In addition to them, the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Isco, Karim Benzema and Casemiro earn more than €200,000 per week. As such, despite sending their highest earner Gareth Bale on loan, Real Madrid have a lot of work to do in order to free up their wage bill and furnish some much needed funds.
#1 Barcelona - €263 million
Barcelona have been going through a rough patch both on the field and off it. The Catalans are in for a lot of changes following the resignation of Josep Maria Bartomeu and his board of directors. Their investment policies in the transfer market had come under a lot of criticism as the club finds itself in a precarious financial position.
Despite asking the players to take wage cuts, Barcelona still foot the highest wage bill in the continent. They pay a whopping €263 million in wages annually. Lionel Messi is obviously the highest earner, taking home in excess of a million per week.
He is followed closely by Antoine Griezmann who reportedly earns more than €800,000 a week but is yet to really justify those exorbitant wages. The likes of Frenkie De Jong, Gerard Pique, Ousmane Dembele all earn in excess of €200,000 per week.
Barcelona are looking to offload several players in the January transfer window as they find themselves in a bit of a pickle on the financial front.
