LaLiga: Barcelona beat out Real Madrid, Juventus to retain position as the world’s best-paid professional sports team

Barcelona have retained their position as the world’s best-paid professional sports team while National Basketball Association (NBA) sides took seven out of the top 10 places this year, a study by research body Sporting Intelligence has revealed.

File image of Barcelona. AP

Data from the annual Global Sports Salary Survey shows the average basic pay at the Spanish giants this season is 9.8 million pounds ($12.75 million), dipping slightly from last year’s 10.5 million pounds.

Barcelona holding onto top spot is largely down to Argentina forward Lionel Messi’s gross basic annual pay of more than 50 million pounds including guaranteed image rights fees.

Real Madrid are second on the list with an average basic pay of around 8.9 million pounds while Serie A champions Juventus — who signed Messi’s great rival Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018 — are in third place.

Portland Trailblazers are fourth with an average pay of 8 million pounds, ahead of fellow NBA sides Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.

English soccer champions Manchester City are 13th at 6.9 million pounds — below France’s Paris St Germain in 12th (7.1 million pounds) — but ahead of local rivals Manchester United who are 33rd (6.1 million pounds).

The average annual salary of a Premier League player climbed over 3 million pounds for the first time — a rise of 6.1% from last year — making the competition the highest paying soccer league, while the NBA was first overall.

Major League Baseball teams experienced mixed fortunes on the list.

The New York Yankees, who last week signed pitcher Gerrit Cole to a nine-year deal worth a reported $324 million, are 32nd while the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals and Arizona Diamondbacks were among the biggest fallers.

Data revealed that Spain’s La Liga and the Premier League were joint-top in terms of social media popularity, well ahead of the NBA, NFL and Serie A.