Ranking the 50 most expensively assembled squads in world football in 2025-26
Chelsea boast the most expensively assembled squad in world football when it comes to transfer fees, according to industry estimates.
Xabi Alonso’s Blues squad is one of just two – both from the Premier League – that have cost over €1billion to put together, as stated by Transfermarkt.
That makes this Chelsea squad the most expensively assembled in football history, whether or not you include add-ons in that.
Manchester City are the other club to have broken the €1billion mark. Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham complete an all-English top six, and Premier League clubs account for over half (14) of the top 25.
Alongside clubs you might expect to see, such as Newcastle in the top 10, there are others like Nottingham Forest, Brighton 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 champions Barcelona, for example, are only 15th in the list – having spent less money on building Hansi Flick’s squad than clubs including Atletico Madrid, Al-Hilal and Forest. It’s also notable that PSG and Real Madrid have spent less on their squad than Tottenham.
Europe’s five major leagues account for 23 of the top 25, with Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad bucking the trend.
Towards the bottom of the top 50, you can find several former giants of European football, including Benfica, Porto and Marseille, as well as Brazilian outfit Flamengo
Every Premier League team features, as well as Leicester City who’ve just been relegated to League One.
Here is the top 50, ranked in order of their squad cost according to Transfermarkt.
1. Chelsea – €1.1billion
2. Manchester City – €1.1billion
3. Liverpool – €990.4million
4. Manchester United – €947.52million
5. Arsenal – €924.1million
6. Tottenham – €870.2million
7. PSG – €822.52million
8. Newcastle United – €724.5million
9. Real Madrid – €710million
10. Juventus – €523.25million
11. Al-Hilal – €451.52million
12. Atletico Madrid – €449.95million
13. Nottingham Forest – €426.73million
14. Bayern Munich – €421.3million
15. Barcelona – €405.5million
16. Napoli – €404.55million
17. Aston Villa – €398.9million
18. Bournemouth – €385.6million
19. AC Milan – €384.1million
20. West Ham – €367.8million
21. Brighton – €365.42million
22. Everton – €355.02million
23. Borussia Dortmund – €352.9million
24. Bayer Leverkusen – €345.15million
25. Al-Ittihad – €355.21million
26. Crystal Palace – €325.4million
27. Brentford – €318.55million
28. RB Leipzig – €318.5million
29. Atalanta – €311.46million
30. Inter Milan – €307.9million
31. Al-Ahli – €307.61million
32. Fulham – €305.05million
33. Roma – €293.5million
34. Monaco – €239.2million
35. Leeds United – €237.39million
36. Benfica – €232.45million
37. Wolves – €230.95million
38. Burnley – €230.59million
39. Galatasaray – €222.93million
40. Al-Nassr – €210.66million
41. Sunderland – €206.93million
42. Sporting Lisbon – €205.45million
43. Marseille – €201.35million
44. Porto – €201.28million
45. Wolfsburg – €200.58million
46. Flamengo – €200.43million
47. Villarreal – €191.75million
48. Leicester – €186million
49. Fiorentina – €180.89million
50. Stuttgart – €178million