The average Premier League player earns £400,000 sterling a year but wages are set to become even higher with the changes to the transfer system and lucrative future television deals.

A financial survey of Premier League clubs last season by the accountants Deloitte & Touche found that wages overall increased by 20 per cent in England's top division compared to 1999.

Chelsea are the biggest payers with an annual wage bill of £47 million followed by Manchester United at £44.9 million and Liverpool at £40.11 million.

The survey also claims that the Premier League is on the verge of becoming the world's first billion-pound football league after registering a total turnover of £772 million last season, an increase of 15 per cent on 1999. The overall turnover is set to increase for the 2001-02 season once money from the new television deal kicks in.

Leeds experienced a 56 per cent increase in their wage bill and at Sunderland there was a 50 per cent rise. The bulk of a club's expenditure is on wages and they are set to go even higher. The proposed changes to the transfer system are likely to lead to wage inflation as clubs attempt to hold on to their star players.

Gerry Boon, head of Deloitte & Touche Sport, said in the review: "In the year under review, there were signs that a few chairmen and managers were making a stand against some player wage demands but key developments over the last year suggest player salaries will continue to spiral.

"The effects of the new TV deal are already apparent, with players and their agents positioning themselves for contract negotiations.

"Likewise, the European Commission ruling on transfer fees, or Bosman II as it is known, will cause further upward pressure on wages, at least at the top end.

"It must feel like being on a treadmill, running ever faster just to keep up. But chairmen can control the speed - at least they should be able to for everyone but the star players."

Paying the highest wages does not guarantee success. Chelsea, as the highest payers last season, did not win a single trophy, and Wimbledon, with a wage bill of £15.77 million and Sheffield Wednesday, with a wage bill of £14.38 million, were relegated. Bradford, who stayed up, spent £6.01 million on wages.

The average club turnover is £38.6 million but, despite the huge amounts being spent in an attempt to gain success, only seven clubs made a profit.

More worrying for the grass roots of the game and clubs in the lower divisions, the survey found that last season Premier League teams spent £250 million on transfers, of which £150 million went abroad.

Television is also accounting for a greater part of a club's revenue and is set to overtake gate receipts as the principal source of income.