CHELSEA are the biggest spenders in world football according to Deloitte's annual review of football finance, while both Newcastle and Middlesbrough have reduced their wage bill to reflect the changing financial state of the game.

The report, published this morning, shows Chelsea spent a staggering £115m on wages and salaries in the 2003-04 season - twice the amount they shelled out in the previous campaign.

But, while Roman Abramovich's largesse bankrolled a Russian Revolution at Stamford Bridge, their Premier League rivals all reduced their spending on players' pay

With Chelsea taken out of the equation, the total wage bill for 2003-04 was one per cent lower than the previous year.

And, even with the current Premiership champions included, the total Premiership wage bill went up only seven per cent from £761m to £811m - the lowest growth rate since the formation of the Premier League in 1992.

Newcastle spent £44.48m on wages and salaries in 2003-04 - down one per cent from the preceding 12 months - while Middlesbrough's spending fell two per cent to £28.79m.

The Magpies are the fifth biggest spenders in the top-flight - only Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool splash more cash on wages and salaries - with Middlesbrough coming in 14th in a list of Premiership spenders.

"At the top clubs, the biggest stars are still being very well paid - and the amount Chelsea are paying skews the figures - but in the middle ground there are not the rates of increases seen in the previous ten years and even decreases," said Deloitte sports business consultant Paul Rawnsley.

"The clubs would have known that their income from the new Sky TV deal would be slightly lower and look to have adjusted accordingly.

"There has also been an increase in performance-related pay and it would be healthier if there was a greater move to these sorts of contracts where players were rewarded for Champions League qualification or Premier League survival."

The year covered by the report was Abramovich's first full season of ownership and does not cover any spending last summer by new manager Jose Mourinho.

The Deloitte report states: "Chelsea had a total wages bill of £115m, £38m higher than the second placed club, Manchester United, and almost certainly the highest football club wages bill in the world."

There was a fall of seven per cent in players' earnings in the Championship to £138m - a reversal of an average 15 per cent increase over the last decade, and player wages also declined in Leagues One and Two, by 17 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.

In terms of overall revenue, Premiership clubs earned £1.3b in 2003-04 confirming it as the biggest league in Europe by a record margin and representing 18 per cent of the total £7.5b European football market.

Deloitte partner Dan Jones added: "The Premiership continues to go from strength to strength with solid top-line growth.

"This gives the Premiership a competitive advantage compared to its European rivals, most notably when it comes to attracting and retaining top quality players.

"Premiership and Football League clubs have also had success in reining back costs, particularly wages, and in doing so have improved the profitability of English professional football."

Manchester United were again top in terms of revenue generation with £172m- the most for any club in the world - but Chelsea, with £144m, narrowed the gap