Salary differences in the eighths of the Champions League

• Carlos Carpio

  Madrid

Updated 03/11/2025 – 09: 01cet

Of the eight eighth qualifiers of the Champions League that will be settled between today and tomorrow one is already resolved: the tremendous 1-7 with which Arsenal shattered the PSV in the Philips Stadion leaves a few doubts about who will play in the quarterfinals on April 8 and 15. Two more were already quite on track in the first leg, in favor of Bayern Munich (he won 3-0 to Bayer Leverkusen) and Aston Villa (1-3 in the witch field). The other five qualifiers come to the second leg, with a draw, three victories per minimum and one by two goals difference. To know the relationship between the balance of these qualifiers with the economic potential of each team, the betting website Sportingpedia He has prepared a report by comparing the annual salary spending of the workforce of each of the 16 participating clubs.

Bayer-Leverkusen, with the biggest difference

Taking as a reference website specialized in football finances Capologythe most unbalanced tie if we stick to what they spend on salaries of their players is what faces Bayern and Leverkusen, with almost triple in favor of those of Rummenigge (262.4 million compared to 83.5). The second less couple is the Arsenal-PSV, in which the 204.9 million that Arteta soccer players are overwhelmed against the 32.2 of the historic but modest PSV, which is six times less. The third pairing with less salary equality occurs in Benfica-Barcelona, ​​since the Barca footbalists win up to four times more than the Portuguese (201 million compared to 51). The difference between the Real Madrid and Atlético template is just double, 272.9 million compared to 136.4 in favor of whites. Percently the qualifier with the greatest difference is the witches-anon villa, since the 22.5 million that the Belgians dedicate to pay their players almost sixth of the 127.2 million in salaries of the pupils of Unai Emery. It is striking that the most couple qualifier is the one that star two European transatlantics such as Luis Enrique’s PSG and Liverpool de Salah. The difference is only 54.4 million in favor of the Parisians (207.7 million in salaries compared to 153.3 of the English), just a quarter.

10 Top 20 teams of the UEFA ranking, outside

Reviewing the graph of the 16 participants in these eighths we verify that the three teams that best pay their players, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG, needed to play and win the previous play-off to get here. None were classified directly, nor did Even Manchester City, second team with the highest total salary expense according to UEFA in its report ‘Financing and investment of European clubs’, or Manchester United (seventh according to the UEFA Ranking), which was not even classified for the Champions League, nor did Chelsea (eighth). Among the 20 teams in Europe with the highest salary expense, they have been left out of these eighth clubs such as Juventus (13th in the UEFA ranking, it fell eliminated in the play-off by the PSV), the Tottenham (14th, did not qualify for the Champions) Finish in 32nd position), Rome (18, did not qualify), Everton (19th, did not qualify) and Milan (20º, fell eliminated in the play-off against Feyenoord).

Average expenditure of 129 million

Although it is demonstrated that economic strength does not guarantee sports success, as it has been exemplifying Manchester United, financial differences are evident. The average salary expenditure of clubs in the round of 16 is 129.8 million annually in salaries, but the distance between the most paid, Real Madrid (272.9 million) and the least, the witches (22.5), is 12 to 1. Bruges and Lille). Will any of them give the bell between today and tomorrow qualifying for rooms?

https://www.sportingpedia.com/2025/02/27/champions-league-wage-divide-the-financial-gulf-between-contenders-in-the-last-16/)