It is truly an astonishing amount that has been exposed in The Sun via Chelsea's annual accounts for 2010. Without even taking Fernando Torres and David Luiz into account, Chelsea spent over £170 million in wages in 2010, with Manchester City spending far less at £133M.
It will be interesting to see how the club moves forward with Roman Abramovich's much lauded aim to make Chelsea self sufficient. Our wage bill dwarfs every other in English football, and don't forget, that is before Torres' record £175k offer that has apparently been sealed.
Having top players is of course key, but there is a serious argument that this sort of figure needs to be brought down substantially if Chelsea FC is to become a viable business venture.
Hopefully the investment that has gone into the Academy will begin to pay dividends very soon as the likes of Josh McEachran, Gael Kakuta, Patrick Van Aanholt break into the first team without the mega bucks needing to be thrown at purchasing them and paying them.