Manchester United’s current squad is the most expensive ever assembled, ahead of Chelsea and Manchester City, according to new research from the CIES Football Observatory.
Released Wednesday, The latest research from CIES shows that United have spent €1.15 billion (£989) on their current squad, of which just under £400 million has been spent on transfer fees since Erik ten Hag took over in May last year.
CIES figures include add-ons regardless of actual payments.
The Dutchman signed Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia in his first summer at Old Trafford for a combined outlay of more than £120 million.
He also approved the purchase of Antony for £85 million, making the Brazilian the third most expensive player in United history after Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku.
Manchester United signed Rasmus Hojlund for £72 million from Atalanta this summer
Erik ten Hag has also added Mason Mount (left) from Chelsea in a deal worth £60m and signed Andre Onana (right) from Inter Milan for £47m
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This summer, United spent £72m on Rasmus Hojlund and signed Mason Mount from Chelsea in a deal worth up to £60m, while Andre Onana joined from Inter Milan for £47m.
The Blues are close to United and have spent £975 million on players since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over from Roman Abramovich 18 months ago.
Last month the Blues signed Moises Caicedo from Brighton in a deal worth a British record £115 million, breaking the £105 million record they set in January when they signed Enzo Fernandez.
City round out the top three and have spent £900m on building their squad, with just under a quarter of the sum invested this year on four summer signings: Josko Gvardiol, Matheus Nunes, Jeremy Doku and Mateo Kovacic.
Significantly, City have achieved a much better return on their investment, delivering three consecutive Premier League titles and a historic treble last season.
Paris Saint-Germain is the only non-Premier League to be in the top five.
The Ligue 1 champions’ side are worth a combined £860million, but the Parisians have spent more than anyone else on their attack; £480 million has been invested in attackers.
Chelsea have spent almost £1 billion on players since Todd Boehly took charge 18 months ago
The Blues set a new British transfer record after signing Moises Caicedo for £115 million in August
Arsenal signed Declan Rice for a club record £105 million this summer
By comparison, Liverpool have spent more than anyone else on goalkeepers at £63 million, while United and Real Madrid lead the market in defenders and midfielders with expenditures of £330 million and £385 million respectively.
The Spanish giants sit eighth in the CIES table with an investment of £610m in their squad, including the deal worth up to £115m to sign Jude Bellingham this summer.
PSG and Real Madrid are the only two European clubs in the top 10, which is further dominated by the Premier League with Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool in fifth, sixth and seventh places respectively.
The Gunners have spent £718 million on their squad, including a club record £105 million on Declan Rice this summer, while Spurs have spent £713 million.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have invested just over £660 million and overhauled their midfield this summer to the tune of £150 million.
Newcastle and West Ham complete the top 10, with Aston Villa in eleventh place, ahead of Bayern Munich.
All 19 Premier League clubs bar Luton are in the top 100, including clubs from 19 different competitions.
Jude Bellingham signed for Real Madrid this summer on a contract worth up to £115 million
Newly promoted Sheffield United and Burnley are the Premier League clubs with the lowest expenditure, at £128m and £180m respectively.
Slightly more surprising is that high-flying Brighton and Brentford are just ahead with spending under £200m.
Everton, meanwhile, have spent almost £360 million to build their current squad, despite narrowly avoiding relegation last season.
Serie A and LaLiga have 15 and 12 teams in the top 100, with Ligue 1 and Bundesliga each represented by 11 clubs.
Juventus are the biggest spenders in Italy with an investment of £407 million, followed by reigning Serie A champions Napoli with £337 million.
AC Milan and Inter Milan follow, with total expenditures of £285m and £220m respectively.
In Spain, meanwhile, Atletico Madrid are a distant second behind their city rivals, with a total selection cost of £332m.
Barcelona are third with a total investment of £322 million.
Unsurprisingly, the Saudi Pro League is the most represented among non-European leagues with four clubs.
Of that quartet, which ranks 18th with a total investment of £329m, Al Hilal is the biggest spender of any club outside European football’s traditional five major leagues.
The Saudi team signed Neymar and Malcolm from PSG this summer, while it recruited Aleksandar Mitrovic from Fulham and Ruben Neves from Wolves.