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LONDON. — Manchester City are the best paid team in sport, according to a new report. Sportingintelligence’s survey says the English Premier League soccer club pay an average annual wage of £5.3m to its first-team players, which works out as £102 653 per week.Six of the top 10 in the list are football clubs, with baseball (two) and basketball (two) also represented. English Premier League clubs Manchester United (8), Chelsea (10), Arsenal (11) and Liverpool (20) are all in the top 20. Manchester City, purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, are reported to pay their players more than Major League Baseball teams New York Yankees and LA Dodgers, who are second and third in the survey.

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona take the next two spots. The La Liga clubs, who faced each other in the Copa del Rey final last night, both pay their first-team players an average of more than £4.9m a year.

English Premier League champions United have an average wage of £4.3m, while current league leaders Liverpool award £3.4m per man.

“The Global Sports Salaries Survey looks solely at earnings for playing sport, not for endorsements or other extra-curricular activities,” states the Sportingintelligence website.

Although the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls are the only National Basketball Association teams in the top 10, the league is the highest paying with its 441 players each earning an average salary of £2.98m.

Top 10 best-paid players in world sport (average annual salary in £ sterling)

1. Manchester City (Premier League) £5.337 million
2. New York Yankees (Major League Baseball) £5.286 million
3. LA Dodgers (Major League Baseball) £5.119 million
4. Real Madrid (La Liga) £4.993 million
5. Barcelona (La Liga) £4.901 million
6. Brooklyn Nets (NBA) £4.485 million
7. Bayern Munich (Bundesliga) £4.402 million
8. Manchester United (Premier League) £4.322 million
9. Chicago Bulls (NBA) £3.985 million
10. Chelsea (Premier League) £3.984 million. — AFP.