Top 10 wage bills in European football

Top 10 wage bills in European football revealed as Barcelona are leapfrogged by PSG and Manchester United top the Premier League's salary charts

• Manchester City have risen up the charts rapidly under manager Pep Guardiola 
• But they are still behind rivals Manchester United in the Premier League chart
• The Premier League dominates the ranking - serial winners Juventus are 10th 
• Sportsmail has taken a look at the top ten wage bills across European football 

The release of Manchester City's annual accounts last week highlighted the extent to which Pep Guardiola has been backed as he looks to launch a new era at the Etihad Stadium. 

City, however, are not Europe or even England’s biggest spenders. 

Here, Sportsmail looks at the top wage bills across the continent and find a new club at the top of the pile.

1. Paris Saint-Germain - £279m (Top earner: Neymar, £537,000-per-week*)

We have a new leader. Following this summer’s transfer business – and the arrival of £33m-a-year Neymar – the Parisians have taken possession of the biggest wage bill in Europe, ahead of Barcelona. 

PSG have raised the bar, with the Brazilian taking home around £537,000-a-week. That works out at 88p per second. Nice work if you can get it.

Neymar's arrival has seen Paris Saint-Germain become the highest payers in Europe

2. Barcelona - £264m (Top earner: Lionel Messi, £500,000-per-week)

The giants of European football have a wage bill to match. However, the figures here have been calculated to reflect this summer’s loss of Neymar. 

That said, nobody believes the Catalan club will not make a statement in the forthcoming transfer window and may soon retake top spot from their French rivals.

Lionel Messi is Barcelona's top earner and expect more investment from them in January

3. Manchester United - £264m (Top earner: Paul Pogba, £290,000-per-week)

United’s figures reflect the substantial backing given to Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho after the short-lived David Moyes era as the club continues to try and recapture the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson. 

Football is a complex game, and while injuries have impacted the side, it is hard to reconcile the at-times negative tactics of the current incumbent with this hefty wage bill.

Manchester United's huge wage bill suggests they should be playing more attacking football

4. Chelsea - £250m (Top earner: Eden Hazard, £200,000-per-week)

Chelsea’s figures are due out shortly and, as was the case with Barcelona, may well be headed south following pending transfer activity, with Diego Costa about to shifted from the tab.

That said, the arrivals of the likes of Alvaro Morata and Tiermoue Bakayoko will not have come cheap.

Chelsea's payments are likely to dip, but Eden Hazard is still on an impressive £200,000

5. Manchester City - £244m (Top earner: Sergio Aguero, £220,000-per-week)

The cost of supporting Pep Guardiola in the first part of his City project became clear earlier this month when the Premier League leaders announced their annual figures. Salaries at the Etihad Stadium rose by 25 per cent in the Catalan’s first year. 

While that does not include the arrivals of the likes of Benjamin Mendy, Danilo and Kyle Walker, it should be noted that the departures of big earners such as Samir Nasri, Joe Hart, Fernando and Wilfried Bony, are also not included and so this should be a relatively accurate sum.

Sergio Aguero is the top earner at a Manchester City side whose wage bill has increased

6. Real Madrid - £240m (Top earner: Cristiano Ronaldo, £365,000-per-week*)

These are testing times in the Spanish capital for Zinedine Zidane and Co. The departures of Alvaro Morata to Chelsea and Danilo to Manchester City, with no high-profile arrivals, has sent them down the pecking order.

And that is reflected in their struggles in La Liga. They are third and eight points behind rivals Barcelona.

Cristiano Ronaldo remains on Real Madrid's highest salary amid his own issues in front of goal

7. Bayern Munich - £235m (Top earner: Robert Lewandowski, £160,000-per-week) 

A summer of astute but costly acquisitions puts the Bavarians next on the list. The loan arrival of James Rodriguez from Real was notable.

Adding the likes of Corentin Tolisso, from Lyon, and Kingsley Coman, from Juventus, add to the sense that there is a desire to improve Champions League performance, something underlined by the departure of Carlo Ancelotti.

Robert Lewandowski is Bayern Munich's best paid player as they push for European success

8. Arsenal - £210m (Top earners: Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, £150,000-per-week)

Arsenal announced their figures at the end of September, with a wage bill of about  £199m.

This will have risen slightly following this summer’s transfer business, with the addition of Alexandre Lacazette the highest-profile arrival, but their wage bill is still a long way short of clubs that the Gunners support see as key rivals.

Midfielder Mesut Ozil is one of two Arsenal players who are both on £150,000-per-week

The German's fellow contract rebel Alexis Sanchez also earns the same figure as Ozil

9. Liverpool - £210m (Top earner: Philippe Coutinho, £200,000-per-week)

A sign of how quickly things can change in the crazy world of English football comes with Liverpool’s drop down the list. Last year, their wage bill was bigger than that of Manchester City. 

However, a cautious period of activity has seen them be overtaken on the salary front and the departure of Philippe Coutinho, should it come to pass, will see costs drop again. Expect investment.

Philippe Coutinho is the best paid player at Liverpool but he may not be long for Anfield

10. Juventus - £150m (Top earner: Gonzalo Higuain, £130,000-per-week)

Another sign of the incredible sums floating around the Premier League comes with the arrival of Juventus in tenth place. 

The Italians dominate domestically and reached the Champions League final, but their wage bill is nowhere near that of some of England’s top clubs. Juve’s nearest rival? AC Milan on a distant £107m. 

*After tax

Juventus dominate Italian football but their wage bill does not come close to top English sides

The year's most spectacular bird snaps

The year's most spectacular bird photos including a kingfisher getting ready to devour its dinner have been revealed in their full glory. 

This year, Alejandro Prieto Rojas was named Bird Photographer of the Year for his memorable image of flamingos feeding their offspring in Mexico. 

Head competition judge Chris Packham said: 'As President of the British Trust for Ornithology I am proud to support Bird Photographer of the Year, a competition that will push bird photographers to new limits. We see lots of technically accomplished images and "nice" portraits of attractive species. But what we are looking for as judges are those images which have an instant and enduring "wow" factor. 

'To have been gifted with so many of these "wow" photos in the first two years of this competition is extraordinary, because photographing birds is enormously challenging. I am excited about seeing what this year brings and being involved again in choosing the best of the best.' 

The winning images are published in a book available for purchase from the British Trust for Ornithology and will be part of a traveling exhibition around the UK.

This stunning image called 'Catch of the day' by Vince Burton was the winner of the Nature Photographers Ltd people's choice award. Pictured, a common kingfisher in Suffolk, England

The battle: This shot is by Jose Garcia from Miami, Florida. He said: 'This Great White Heron fighting a green snake in the Florida Everglades. The fight lasted for nearly 20 minutes with the Heron having to release its prey'

This image of a great white pelican called 'Daily basket' by Ionel Onofras was taken in Romania. It was in the best portrait category

The winning submission: Photographer Alejandro Prieto Rojas won the top spot with this image of a famingo feeding its chick. It was taken at Rio Lagartos, Mexico. He will receive a £5,000 cash prize at an award ceremony. Mr Rojas took the photo during the annual feeding of the chicks. They are born with grey and white feathers and do not turn pink for a year or two

This image of whiskered tern called 'Calling for the Sun' by Ondrej Pelanek was taken in Hungary. It was the Gold award winner in the Young Bird Photographer of the Year category

This image of a willow grouse by Markus Varesvuo was part of his winning Best Portfolio 2017 category 

 This image of a Blue Tit on berries Markus Varesvuo was also part of his winning Best Portfolio 2017 category

Markus Varesvuo also featured this image of a gannet underwater for his Best Portfolio 2017 award

Head competition judge Chris Packham said: 'As President of the British Trust for Ornithology I am proud to support Bird Photographer of the Year, a competition that will push bird photographers to new limits.' Pictured, Great Grey Owl by Markus Varesvuo

He added: 'We see lots of technically accomplished images and 'nice' portraits of attractive species.' Pictured, Snowy Owl by Markus Varesvuo

This image of a bearded tit by Markus Varesvuo won an honourable mention in the Best Portrait 2017 category 

This image of male and female mallards by Francesco De Giuseppe won silver in the Creative Imagery 2017 category 

This image of whooper swans in snow by Wim van den Heever won bronze in the Creative Imagery 2017 category 

This image of a hovering barn owl by Jamie Hall won gold in the Birds in the Garden 2017 category 

This photograph of a starling in bird bath underexposed by Mohammad Murad won silver in the Birds in the Garden 2017 category 

This image of a willow grouse in the garden by Markus Varesvuo won bronze in the Birds in the Garden 2017 category 

This photo of a cormorant wing by Tom Hines won gold in the Attention to Detail 2017category 

This photo of a grey heron looking under wing by Ahmad Alessa won silver in the Attention to Detail 2017 category 

This image of an albatross eye close-up by Jessica Winter won bronze in the Attention to Detail 2017 category 

This photo of a guillemot stretching wing by Marc Weber won silver in the Best Portrait 2017 category 

This photo of fighting coots by Andy Parkinson won gold in the Bird Behaviour 2017 category 

This image of a diving kingfisher by Malek Alhazzaa won silver in the Bird Behaviour 2017 category 

This image of a swan's head underwater by Ian Wade won bronze in the Bird Behaviour 2017 category 

This photo of a red kite close-up by Jamie Hall won silver in the Birds in Flight 2017 category 

This image of a ptarmigan by Markus Varesvuo won bronze in the Birds in Flight 2017 category 

This image of a condor over mountains by Ben Hall won gold in the Birds in the Environment 2017 category 

This image of a crane flock on a misty lake by Piotr Chara won silver in the Birds in the Environment 2017 category 

This image of a blurred bird flock by Marc Weber won bronze in the Birds in the Environment 2017 category 

This photo of a female mallard by Daniel Stenberg won an honourable mention in the Birds in the Environment 2017 category 

This image by Bret Charman, from New South Wales, Australia, was the Gold award winner in the birds in flight category

This photo of a swimming eider by Pål Hermansen won bronze in Best Portrait 2017 category  

Breakfast and bedtime: Photographer Cheryl Schneider took this photo (left) of a Great White Heron catching a hapless fish which seems to be having something of an 'oh dear' moment. Georgina Steytler  from Toodyay, Western Australia, took this photo, right. She said: 'This common species of duck's most identifiable feature is the iridescent speculum feathers which are often only visible during preening or flight. I took this photo at a small lake. The still waters and the dark foliage of the background resulted in an opportunity to highlight the gorgeous feathers. I exaggerated the effect in Adobe Lightroom, but otherwise have not altered the original photo'

Terrifying new perspective: British photographer Tom Hines, from Harrow, Middlesex, took this extremely close-up shot of a lesser black-backed Gull in London's Hyde Park

Dark and stormy: This picture of Pitsea landfill was submitted to the category 'Birds in Flight' and was given an honourable mention. Photographer Gabor kapus, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, said: 'We were ringing gulls at Pitsea landfill using cannon nets to catch the birds, the camera was on the ground just at the front of the net. I was trying to capture the moment when the net is fired and is still in the air above the camera. As we were waiting to fire the net this fox walked right at the front of the camera scaring all birds into the air -but at least I took this great image'

Adorable: This shot of two Gentoo penguin chicks was taken by Richard Sidey, from New Zealand, in Antarctica

Balancing act: British photographer Tom Hines snapped this shot of a Western Jackdaw daintily perched atop a red deer in London's Richmond Park. The birds regularly groom the larger animal for ticks and other insects

Catching a lift:  Jonathan Gaunt from Kelso snapped this picture of a female goosander with her newly hatched brood

Astonishing: A female Cardinal contortio was captured on camera by photographer Gary Cook in Beavercreek, Ohio

Haunting: This bloodied feeding vulture was captured by Ali Alshamsi, from Doha, Qatar. He took the picture on the Maasai Mara National Reserve, an area of preserved savannah wilderness in southwestern Kenya

Kindergarden: Photographer Csaba Tokoly from Budapest, Hungary, captured this shot of Greylag goslings swimming 

Floral flight: Barn Owl hovering by Roy Rimmer of Wigan, Lancashire. POTY helps raise funds for the BTO, so far having raised over £5,500 from entry fees alone. The money has been used to help support the BTO's young birders programme, aimed at engaging a younger generation of naturalists and ornithologists

Scavengers: Marabou Storks were photographed by Daniel Rosengren,frmo Sweden. He said: 'Marabou Storks are scavengers, but they are not that good at ripping big pieces of meat off a carcass. Instead, they rely on other scavengers like hyenas or vultures to do that, so they can take the easy pickings from the ground. This photo was taken by placing the camera with a wide angle lens near the zebra carcass and trigger it with a remote from a distance.' The photo was taken in Tanzania