The Premier League has revealed the staggering amounts of money paid to its clubs

Being the most lucrative league in the world's most popular sport, perhaps it should come as no surprise just how much money the Premier League makes each year.

But nevertheless, the release of the latest annual payments to clubs figures is enough to make anyone's eyes water - to the tune of £1.6bn.

Even relegated clubs QPR, Burnley and Hull earned over £60m each this year owing to the Premier League being the "most equitable of Europe’s major leagues".

It's interesting to note how the money paid to each club is relatively dependent on their final league position except for some of the "bigger" clubs - Liverpool, Everton and Newcastle - who earned slightly more than the teams finishing directly above them, thanks to the number of times they appeared on television throughout the season.

The payment made to each club is broken down into five categories:

• Equal share: 50 per cent of UK broadcast revenue split equally among the clubs.

• Facility fees: Dependent on how many times each club appears on UK television - a share of 25 per cent of UK broadcast revenue.

• Merit payment: Based purely on final league position - a share of 25 per cent of UK broadcast revenue.

• Overseas TV: An equal share of all overseas broadcast revenue.

• Central commercial: An equal share of other central revenue (highlights packages, near-live clip rights etc).

More: These are the most valuable football clubs in the world