Real Madrid and Juventus will meet at the Wales National Stadium on Saturday to play the 62nd edition of the European Champions League. On one side the Spanish champion, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, in search of the twelfth European Cup; On the other, the vecchia signora, who wants to try to be European champion for the fourth time. But it is not only the historical legacy that looks good for Real: it is also its heavy payroll, which according to Finance Football calculations is almost three times higher than the salary expenses of Juventus.

The disparity between the two teams is evident. Florentino Pérez’s team spends more than two million euros a week just to feed the initial (likely) eleven line-up. The Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is obviously the most expensive asset of the squad, but is far from the only millionaire on the table. Players like Bale, Modric, Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos and Benzema also oblige the Madrid club to stretch its pockets.

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As an example, compare these values with those of the star of Juventus, the Argentinean Higuain. The forward, who is Juve’s highest-paid player – and certainly not by chance, has already played for Real Madrid – costs around 150,000 euros a week. That is, Juve’s highest-paid player has a salary that is less than a fifth of Cristiano Ronaldo’s pay and would make him only the seventh best-paid player if he had never left Madrid.

Players with the lowest salary speak Portuguese

In terms of salaries, the only position in which la Vecchia Signora manages to supplant Real Madrid is in the goal position. Gianluigi Buffon is not a young player anymore, but he remains the third highest-paid player on the squad. In search of his first European trophy in his career, Buffon has a salary of 80 thousand euros a week, while goalkeeper Keylor Navas receives about 64 thousand euros.

Players with the most modest salary are well known to the Portuguese public. The most “humble” player on this list of 22 stars is former FC Porto player Casemiro. The Brazilian midfielder has been dominant in the balance of Zinedine Zidane’s team, yet he is indeed a cheap player, as you can see by the table above. Curiously, on the side of Juventus, the player less paid is also a former FC Porto player: Alex Sandro.

Obviously, the salary discrepancies between the two teams is not something new. In fact, Real has long been the great monetary power of world football: in addition to having the highest paid player in the world, it has also stamped six of the fifteen most expensive transfers ever. Next Saturday we will see if the investment paid off.