The Brazilian superstar excels Roma ace Francesco Totti, who earns £3.7million a year and tops the list of Italian players.

Italy's number one goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon follows Totti with a £3.4million annual salary, as Inter trio Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Patrick Vieira and Adriano are all level with the Juve guardian.

The top ten list includes the names of Inter's new recruits Christian Chivu and David Suazo, in addition to Milan's Brazilian midfielder Emerson.

The Milan rivals also hold the record for the highest annual wage bills, as the Rossoneri and Nerazzurri spend about £80million and £74million respectively on player's wages.

Cagliari are the team with the least wage budget, paying £7.5million, which means that top duo Kaka and Totti are collectively earning more than the total salaries of all Cagliari players combined together.