Manchester United's players were better paid than those from neighbours and rivals Manchester City last season, although a lavish wage bill could only deliver a fifth-placed Premier League finish.
City's latest financial results, released on Tuesday, revealed staff costs of £198million, while the world's most expensive footballer Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jose Mourinho have added further weight to a United wage bill that totalled £203m for 2015-16.
A run to the Champions League semi-finals in a capacity-boosted Etihad Stadium under Manuel Pellegrini last term helped City rake in record revenues of £391.8m, netting a profit of £20.5m.
By comparison, United made a gargantuan £515m over the same period, with a healthy profit of almost £50m.
While United's debts climb into the hundreds of millions, City's statement declared them to be operating with "zero financial debt" as well as having recorded a "healthy wage/revenue ratio at 50 per cent in 2015-16".
Pep Guardiola's arrival ahead of the current season, like Mourinho's across the city, prompted a spike in spending, with next year's figures likely to chronicle an estimated £180m spending spree.
Though apparently operating under slightly tighter financial restraints, Guardiola has led City to the top of the Premier League after eight games, including a 2-1 win over united at Old Trafford, with Mourinho's men five points further back in seventh.
‘He instantly popped into our ratings as one of the best U21 midfielders in Europe. The impressive thing is Slot has made him into more of a no.6' Inside Ryan Gravenberch's transformation at Liverpool
‘I don’t think Liverpool would look at Ollie Watkins, a striker isn’t a pressing issue for them – it’s Arsenal who need one’ Former Reds star explains why his old club don’t need an out-and-out forward this summer
