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What is the best-paid sports team in the world?

English Premier League giants Manchester City are the best-paid sports team in the world, according to a new report.

The Global Sports Salaries Survey (GSSS) report has revealed City's first team players earn an average of $A9.6 million a year, or $A184,000 a week.

Five Premier League clubs - City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool – feature in the top 20.

The top 20 also features six Major League Baseball teams, five NBA teams, Spanish football giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, German champions Bayern Munich and Italian powerhouse Juventus.

The GSSS report is based on five years of comparative data from 294 teams in 12 countries and looks solely at earnings from playing sport, not from endorsements.

The NBA is the highest-paying league as a whole, with 441 players earning an average of $A5.3 million a year.

While City's players are the best paid in the world, golfer Tiger Woods remains the top-earning athlete on the planet.

Woods topped Forbes's 2013 list of the world's highest paid sports stars, which factors in salary, winnings and endorsements.

Forbes estimated Woods earned $A83.5 million in the 2012-2013 financial year, putting him ahead of tennis great Roger Federer and NBA stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

THE WORLD'S BEST PAID SPORTS TEAM BY AVERAGE FIRST-TEAM SALARY

1) Manchester City (football) - $9.56 million a year
2) New York Yankees (baseball) - $9.47m
3) Los Angeles Dodgers (baseball) - $9.17m
4) Real Madrid (football) - $8.95m
5) Barcelona (football) - $8.78m
6) Brooklyn Nets (basketball) - $8.73m
7) Bayern Munich (football) - $7.89m
8) Manchester United (football) - $7.74m
9) Chicago Bulls (basketball) - $7.14m
10) Chelsea (football) - $7.13m
11) Arsenal (football) - $6.99m
12) New York Knicks (basketball) - $6.92m
13) Detroit Tigers (baseball) - $6.86m
14) Philadelphia Phillies (baseball) - $6.83m
15) Boston Red Sox (baseball) - $6.74m
16) Miami Heat (basketball) - $6.56m
17) San Francisco Giants (baseball) - $6.47m
18) Juventus (football) - $6.29m
19) Los Angeles Lakers (basketball) - $6.11m
20) Liverpool (football) - $6.09m

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are amongst the highest-paid in world sport. Source: Getty
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are amongst the highest-paid in world sport. Source: Getty