Manchester City players are the highest-paid sportspersons in the world

The 2011-12 Premier League champions are the also the highest earning players.

In a list issued by Sportingintelligence’s Global Sports Salaries Survey (GSSS), compiled in association with ESPN The Magazine for the average pays in season 2012-13, Premier League club Manchester City topped the charts ahead of Chelsea and Manchester United.

In September 2008, Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed from Abu Dhabi took over the club from previous owner and Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for a deal worth a reported £200 million. Since then, the club has seen a total overhaul and more than £1 billion worth of investment.

High-profile signings Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez are the highest earners in the City team.

The Manchester club players receive £5.2 million a year on an average as compared to £4.71 and £4.69 million received by the Real Madrid and Barcelona team players respectively. Last year, Real and Barca were the top two highest-paying clubs.

Chelsea are 8th on the list followed by Manchester United, who are on the 12th.

Other football clubs in the list include 2012-13 Champions League winners Bayern Munich(9th), Rossoneri club AC Milan(6th) and their Serie A rivals Inter Milan(10th).

Eight football teams, three baseball teams, and one basketball team make up the list.

Los Angles Dodgers are second on the list with an average annual pay of £4.85 million. The New York Yankees (5) and the Philadelphia Phillies (11) are the other baseball teams.

LA Lakers, the only NBA team on the list, occupy 7th position.

The survey was done for the 12 most popular sports leagues in the world on the basis of average attendance. The leagues are NFL, Bundesliga, Premier League, AFL, MLB,  La Liga, CFL, NPB, Serie A, IPL, NHL and NBA.

Source: Daily Mail