Barcelona & Real Madrid Are The Best Paid Sports Teams In The World

Barcelona has moved ahead of the baseball team to become the best paid sports team on the planet with Real Madrid following them in second, according to a survey scheduled to be published this week.

The report shows that the average annual salary per player during the 2009-10 season was $7.9 million for Barca and $7.3 million for Real Madrid.

The Yankees are third in the list, which was compiled by Sporting Intelligence in association with ESPN The Magazine.

The L.A. Lakers and Orlando Magic are fourth and fifth in the list, with English Premier League giants Chelsea and current Italian and European champion Inter following them. Ambitious English club Manchester City is 10th in the list.

The report surveyed 272 teams in 14 major pro leagues spanning 10 countries and includes 7,802 athletes making a combined $15.2 billion in salary. The full report will be published on Friday.

Here is the list of the top 10 best paid sports teams: