Chelsea has "returned to the top of at least one Premier League table after annual figures revealed they have overtaken both Manchester clubs in terms of salaries paid to players," according to Martyn Ziegler of the PA. The '14-15 figures, which have been made available on Companies House, show that Chelsea "are the biggest payers in the top flight once more" after losing that position to Man City in the '11-12 season. The club, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, reported a total wage bill for last season that rose to £215.6M ($313.2M), up £25M ($36.3M). The salary bill for Chelsea's leading rivals last season saw ManU's at £203M, Man City's at £193.5M and Arsenal paying out £192.2M on wages. Both Manchester clubs "reported a drop in overall wages last season." The full annual figures reveal however that Chelsea made a £42M ($61M) profit on players trading, through selling Romelu Lukaku, Andre Schurrle and Ryan Bertrand -- and despite bringing in Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa. In the '13-14 season Chelsea made a £65M profit in player trading (PA, 1/8).
