Manchester United first-team stars earn an average annual salary of £5.77million – the highest in world football.
The Old Trafford club came out on top in a survey of almost 10,000 sportsmen at 333 teams in seven sports across 17 of the world’s richest leagues.
Barcelona, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Chelsea make up the football top five but basketball sides Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Yankees and LA Clippers topped them all.
The average Premier League player earns £2.4m a year, according to the global sports salary survey (GSSS).
That is double that of players in La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga.
The individual player list is headed by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi who each earn £18.98 a year, or £365,000 a week.
Gareth Bale (£18.2m), Hulk (£16.64m) and Paul Pogba (£15.1m) make up the top five.
China’s growing influence sees three players plying their club football there make the top 10.
Top 10 best-paid sports teams (average annual salary)
1. Cleveland Cavaliers (£6.54m)
2. New York Yankees (£5.81m)
3. LA Clippers (£5.78m)
4. Manchester United (£5.77m)
5. Barcelona (£5.64m)
6. Portland Trail Blazers (£5.59m)
7 Memphis Grizzlies (£5.51m)
8. Dallas Mavericks (£5.50m)
9. Manchester City (£5.42m)
10. Orlando Magic (£5.38m)
Top 10 best-paid footballers (annual salary)
1= Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid (£18.98m)
1= Lionel Messi – Barcelona (£18.98m)
3. Gareth Bale – Real Madrid (£18.2m)
4. Hulk Shanghai SIPG (£16.64m)
5. Paul Pogba Man United (£15.51m)
6. Graziano Pelle Shangdong Lueng (£14.2m)
7. Ezequiel Lavezzi Hebei China Fortune (£13.5m)
8. Wayne Rooney Man United (£13.5m)
9. Neymar Barcelona (£13.4m)
10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic Man United (£13m)
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