UEFA releases the top 20, making Man Utd’s £1.2 billion squad the most expensive ever.

Although Manchester United has amassed the most expensive squad in history thanks to their recent financial excesses, some of their Premier League opponents are not far behind.

Currently, the Premier League is the most lucrative football league in the world, with some of England’s biggest spenders contributing a combined £6.5 billion to the competition.

A list of some of the most costly teams playing across Europe right now has been put together by UEFA. Not surprisingly, at the end of the 2023 fiscal year, the Premier League dominated the top 20.

Manchester United leads the list following years of significant expenditure. The Red Devils’ roster is presently valued at approximately £1.21 billion, but Erik ten Hag’s team is fighting to qualify for Europe at the end of the season, so that hasn’t done them any favors.

rivals from across the city Second on the list is Manchester City. Apparently, their team is worth £1.1 billion. Those lax purse strings have paid off handsomely for Pep Guardiola’s team, who won the unprecedented treble the previous season.

Chelsea, with a £927 million squad, completes the Premier League top three. Since Todd Boehly arrived at Stamford Bridge, the Blues have made significant spending investments, with big signings for Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, and Mykhaylo Mudryk at the top of the list.

Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid round out the top five. The two have respective squad values of £882 million and £802 million. After that, Premier League teams return to the list. UEFA’s ranking places Liverpool and Arsenal, the current title challengers, sixth and seventh respectively.

During Jurgen Klopp’s tenure at Anfield, Liverpool has made extravagant purchases, including the record-breaking acquisitions of Darwin Nunez, Virgil van Dijk, and Alisson Becker. In other news, Mikel Arteta closed a £105 million deal for Declan Rice this summer at Arsenal, where he has been allowed a great deal of latitude in the transfer market.

Next on the list with a team worth of £658 million is Juventus, followed by another Premier League team in tenth place. Transfer fees for Tottenham’s existing players are supposedly valued at £570 million.

Inter Milan, the Champions League finalists from the previous season and a European powerhouse, is narrowly eliminated from the top 10. The Italian team has a roster valued at £504 million, whereas Barcelona, who will lose manager Xavi at the end of the current campaign, spent almost £493 million building their team.

The Catalan team is then followed by Newcastle following a few seasons of lavish expenditure. Under their Saudi owners, the Magpies have not shied away from entering the market, which has secured them a spot in the Champions League this year. It is said that they have invested £464 million to assemble their team.

Bayern Munich signed Harry Kane for £100m last summer (Image: Getty Images)

With a squad investment of £457 million, which is expected to include a significant deal for Harry Kane, Bayern Munich secures the 12th spot. The next team on the list, RB Leipzig, is their German opponent and has spent £433 million.

With investments of £381 million and £421 million, respectively, Aston Villa surpasses Napoli, the current Italian powerhouse. The next team on the list is another Premier League team dressed in claret and blue. It has been reported that West Ham invested £379 million on their team to win the Europa Conference League.

With respective spending totals of £369 million and £334 million, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund trail the Hammers. Finishing in the top 20, AC Milan spent a relatively modest £287 million on transfers.

Full list:

1) Man United – £1.2bn

2) Man City – £1.1bn

3) Chelsea – £927m

4) Real Madrid – £882m

5) PSG – £802m

6) Liverpool – £774m

7) Arsenal – £761m

8) Juventus – £658m

9) Tottenham – £570m

10) Inter Milan – £504m

11) Barcelona – £493m

12) Newcastle – £464m

13) Bayern Munich – £457m

14) RB Leipzig – £433m

15) Aston Villa – £428m

16) Napoli – £381m

17) West Ham – £379m

18) Atletico Madrid – £369m

19) Borussia Dortmund – £334m

20) AC Milan – £287m