[misha]

Milan’s Brazilian ace Kaka has beaten Francesco Totti to win the title of calcio’s top earner and the Rossoneri have Serie A’s biggest wage bill.

According to research printed in La Gazzetta dello Sport, Kaka’s annual salary of £4m is unmatched in the peninsula with Totti’s £3.7m haul his closest rival.

Inter trio Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Patrick Vieira and the troubled Adriano are all trailing behind with a modest £3.4m alongside Azzurri goalkeeper Gigi Buffon at Juventus.

Nerazzurri new boy Cristian Chivu is the biggest winner of the summer as his new deal will net him £2.3m, narrowly more than Milan’s Emerson and fellow Beneamata newcomer David Suazo.

While Milan and Inter’s wage bills are almost equal - £80m and £74m respectively – and Juventus are paying £66m, Roma are the most shrewd giants with just £40m to their name.

City rivals Lazio are also unexpectedly frugal with just £12m spent annually, while Cagliari have the tightest hold on the purse strings as they pay just £7.5m per year – less than it would cost to employ just Kaka and Totti.

[dst]

I don't want to offend anybody, but it's one of the reasons I hate EPL, money is EVERYTHING over there.

The world of football has expanded beyond anyone's expectations! It's not Terry that earns a lot, it's Kaka that earns little!! And what you describe is not an EPL-exclusive thing! What goes up must come down and vice versa; Serie A will be the place-to-be again some time in the future and that's where the money is going to be. It's not something to be ashamed of...