Leo Messi's Barcelona best-paid team in world sports

Lionel Messi (R) celebrates with Antoine Griezmann after scoring his sides first goal during the clash between Barcelona and Alaves at Camp Nou on December 21, 2019.

Footballers at Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid and Italy champion Juventus are on the best-paid teams in world sports, according to a survey published on Monday.

The 10th edition of the Global Sports Salaries study by sportingintelligence.com placed Barcelona top of the list with an average basic salary of a first team player of 12.8 million U.S. dollars. That figure is down on last year when Barcelona were also first with an average of 13.7 million U.S. dollars, swelled by the basic paycheck of Lionel Messi, which exceeds 65 million U.S. dollars.

Real Madrid retain second place with an average of 11.6 million U.S. dollars and Juventus, ninth on the list last year, are up to third with 10.54 million U.S. dollars. The other soccer teams in the top 20 are PSG at No. 12 and Manchester City at No. 13.

The figures used in the survey represent basic annual pay and do not include signing bonuses, performance bonuses and other extras.

Cristiano Ronaldo has helped Juventus move from 10th last season to 3rd this year in the latest edition of the Global Sports Salaries study.

Teams from the NBA fill the remaining seven spots in the top 10 and take 15 of the top 20 places.

In 2017, the top three teams in the survey were the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Golden State Warriors, while in 2018, three NBA teams broke the average pay ceiling of 10 million U.S. dollars per player. This year, the Portland Trail Blazers are in fourth place at just over 10.4 million U.S. dollars, Golden State fifth at 10.28 million, and Oklahoma City have fallen to sixth at 9.83 million.

Among teams ranked 21 to 30 this year, nine are from the NBA, joined by German football champion Bayern Munich at No. 22.

Juventus was ranked No. 32 in 2017 but leapt to 10th place last year with the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo and other high-priced players.

The biggest risers in the latest survey were the NFL's Buffalo Bills, who climbed 60 places from No. 152 to No. 92, and the Atlanta Falcons, up 59 spots from No. 123 to No. 64.

Four of the five biggest falls were recorded by Major League Baseball teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, who are down 123 places to No. 172. The New York Yankees were the top-ranked team in the inaugural survey in 2012.

Source(s): AP