The 25 most expensively assembled squads in world football in 2024-25: Chelsea lead…
Chelsea boast the most expensively assembled squad in world football when it comes to transfer fees, according to industry estimates.
Enzo Maresca’s Blues squad is one of just three – all from the Premier League – that have cost over €1billion to put together, as stated by football finance experts the CIES Football Observatory. That makes this Chelsea squad the most expensively assembled in football history, whether or not you include add-ons in that.
Manchester United and Manchester City are the other two clubs to have broken the €1billion mark. Arsenal and Tottenham complete an all-English top five, and Premier League clubs account for over half (13) of the top 25.
It’s certainly striking that neither of the top two clubs in terms of squad cost are competing in this season’s Champions League, emphasising quite how imperative it is for them to get back in 2025 given the big boost in revenue to help balance the FFP books.
Alongside clubs you might expect to see, such as Liverpool and Newcastle in the top 10 and Aston Villa at 14th, there are others like Brighton, Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth that are flexing their financial muscles, competing with giant clubs from the continent when it comes to transfer spending and providing evidence of just how much money there is in the Premier League.
La Liga leaders Barcelona, for example, are only 15th in the list – having spent less money on building Hansi Flick’s squad than clubs including Newcastle, Atletico Madrid, Al-Hilal and Aston Villa. It’s also notable that European champions Real Madrid have spent less on their squad than Tottenham and Liverpool.
Europe’s five major leagues account for 24 of the top 25, with Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal – home to big-money signings Joao Cancelo, Neymar, Ruben Neves and Aleksandar Mitrovic – the only exception.
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Here’s the full top 25. We’ve included the figures including transfer add-ons, but you can find squad cost estimates excluding add-ons as well as the full 100, at CIES.
1. Chelsea – €1.26billion
2. Manchester United – €1.038billion
3. Manchester City – €1.017billion
4. Arsenal – €798million
5. Tottenham – €787million
6. PSG – €772million
7. Liverpool – €735million
8. Real Madrid – €720million
9. Newcastle United – €683million
10. Juventus – €626million
11. Bayern Munich – €588million
12. Atletico Madrid – €496million
13. Al-Hilal – €485million
14. Aston Villa – €475million
15. Barcelona – €461million
16. Brighton – €433million
17. Wolves – €426million
18. West Ham – €414million
19. RB Leipzig – €410million
20. Nottingham Forest – €398million
21. Napoli – €394million
22. AC Milan – €375million
23. Bournemouth – €364million
24. Inter – €329million
25. Borussia Dortmund – €318million