Spanish football giants Barcelona and Real Madrid have overtaken baseball's New York Yankees as the highest paid teams in global sport, according to the Global Sports Salaries Survey 2011.
The survey says the average annual wage at Barcelona is $US8.1 million, or around $155,000 a week.
Real Madrid were second with their players earning an average $7.5 million US a year while the average first-team salary at the Yankees was just under $7 million.
NBA teams the LA Lakers and Orlando Magic were fourth and fifth respectively followed by football Premier League team Chelsea.
The Premier League remains the richest soccer league in the world with Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal among the top 30 best paid teams in world sport.
Nick Harris, the author of the report, says the biggest bucks have traditionally been in American basketball and baseball but the rise in wages among the elite of European football is closing that gap.
