MLS had more players in 2016 earning a six-figure weekly salary than Italy’s Serie A, according to research released this week. 

The study, conducted by Verve Search, a marketing agency in London, and Axo Finans, a Norwegian financial consultant, found that 5% of players who earn a gross salary of €100,000 ($107,000) or more per week ply their trade in North America, as opposed to 3% in Italy. 

Kaká ($135,000 per week) and Sebastian Giovinco ($134,000 per week) led the way in MLS, just behind Serie A’s top earner, Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuaín ($159,000 per week).  The other two players earning over €100,000 a week in Serie A were Higuaín’s Juve team-mate Miralem Pjanic and Roma’s Daniele De Rossi. 

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MLS’s other players earning over €100,000 a week were Toronto FC’s Michael Bradley, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard – who recently left LA Galaxy and NYC FC respectively – and Andrea Pirlo.  The Premier League amassed the majority of high earners over the €100,000 a week threshold (49%), with La Liga and the Chinese Super League both at 15%. 

Despite the fact that MLS mainly attracts aging stars, the study perhaps says more about Serie A and its decline in popularity.  Once a dominant power in European soccer in the 1990s, the Italian league has faced challenges of economical instability, corruption and violence.  In addition, the league has also suffered from a lack of competition: Juventus have won the scudetto for the previous five seasons, while Internazionale did the same between 2005-06 and 2009-2010.  According to the study, the lack of competition has negatively affected TV viewing figures, with a knock-on effect on clubs’ earning power.