Never before has a football club spent so much money on salaries as Paris Saint-Germain did last season. In total, wage costs rose to more than 728 million euros, the Football Benchmark Report concludes. The contracts of Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos and Achraf Hakimi have exploded the salary house. Big earners such as Kylian Mbappé and Neymar have been under contract with the French superpower for some time. The old record was held by Barcelona in 2019.
The signing of Messi, Ramos and Hakimi led to a 45 percent (!) increase in wage expenditure for PSG. The former reportedly earned a sloppy 29 million euros last season. The latest Football Benchmark Report states that PSG’s wage bill for the 2021/22 season, with the most recent figures available, is the highest amount ever paid in salaries by a football club.
Highest expenditure by football clubs on salaries
| Position | Club | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris Saint Germain | 2022 | €728,000,000 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 2019 | €541,900,000 |
| 3 | Barcelona | 2018 | €529,100,000 |
| 4 | RealMadrid | 2022 | €519,000,000 |
| 5 | Paris Saint Germain | 2021 | €503,200,000 |
| 6 | Barcelona | 2021 | €489,600,000 |
| 7 | Barcelona | 2020 | €487,100,000 |
| 8 | Barcelona | 2022 | €457,200,000 |
| 9 | Manchester United | 2022 | €453,400,000 |
| 10 | RealMadrid | 2018 | €430,800,000 |
It should be noted that PSG suffered a loss of 370 million euros due to the enormous expenditure. In September, the French top club was fined more than 63 million euros by UEFA for violating the Financial Fair Play rules. Only ten million of that amount had to be transferred immediately. The remaining balance depends on whether or not the FFP objectives for the coming years are achieved. According to the Football Benchmark Report, PSG’s staff cost to revenue ratio was 109 per cent last season.
PSG is the new leader with its expenditure when it comes to record amounts in salaries. The old record was held by Barcelona, which spent more than 541 million euros on wage costs in 2019. That also had a large part to do with the presence of Messi. Barcelona (2018, 529 million) can also be found in third place. Fourth place is occupied by Real Madrid (2022, 519 million). The Royal saw wage costs rise by 28 percent last season. It led, among other things, to winning the Champions League, a prize that PSG is still waiting for.
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