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The 20 most expensively assembled squads in Europe: Chelsea top…

It will come as no surprise to see that the Premier League dominates the most expensively assembled squads in Europe and the usual suspects are also present.

Of course, spending large sums of money is no guarantee of success, but the vast majority of European powerhouses make an appearance on the list, which is no real surprise.

After a flurry of activity in the January transfer window, Chelsea now top the list with the most expensively assembled squad at a whopping £889million.

After their disastrous start to the season, Todd Boehly wasted no time in bringing in several reinforcements. They also completed the two most expensive signings of the window with Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk.

Chelsea’s lavish spending in both windows under Boehly has evidently not worked out. They’re on track to end in the bottom half and are guaranteed not to qualify for any European competition next season.

Treble-chasers Manchester City closely follow behind with an overall spend of £849million. They had a much quieter January window with the outgoing Joao Cancelo being their most notable bit of business.

Manchester United and Liverpool make up the rest of the top four and showcase the financial dominance that the Premier League holds over the rest of Europe.

In fact, 11 of the 20 most expensive squads are English teams – significantly more than any other league. When it comes to finances, the Premier League reigns over everyone.

Outside of the Premier League, PSG have the most expensive squad, having cost them £617million to assemble. Their wage bill is also the highest in Europe with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar to keep happy.

The likes of Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barcelona and Bayern Munich also make up the top 10. Under their new ownership, Newcastle even manage to sneak in.

The Premier League is well represented throughout the table as the likes of Tottenham, West Ham, Leicester, Wolves and Aston Villa all make their way onto the table.

Here is the full table which ranks European clubs by how much their squad cost to assemble, using figures from Transfermarkt. Note: these totals don’t include transfer fees for players out on loan, but just members of the first-team squad.

1. Chelsea – £889million
2. Man City – £849.07million
3. Man Utd – £774.47million
4. Liverpool – £626.67million
5. PSG – £617.69million
6. Real Madrid – £564.67million
7. Arsenal – £469.8million
8. Barcelona – £426.44million
9. Newcastle – £405.62million
10. Bayern Munich – £396.39million
11. Juventus – £366.56million
12. Tottenham – £340.58million
13. West Ham – £335.63million
14. Napoli – £322.58million
15. Leicester – £320.07million
16. Atletico Madrid – £310.52million
17. Wolves – £308.59million
18. Aston Villa – £301.94million
19. Borussia Dortmund – £289.63million
20. Inter Milan – £236.33million


READ MORE: Ranking the 20 PL clubs by how much their squad cost to assemble

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the 25 most expensive transfers of all time?