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.
Enzo Maresca’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 roughly half (12) 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, Bournemouth and Brentford 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 16th in the list – having spent less money on building Hansi Flick’s squad than clubs including West Ham, 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 24 of the top 25, with Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal – home to big-money signings Darwin Nunez, Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – the only exception.
Towards the bottom of the top 50, you can find several former giants of European football, including Benfica, Porto and Marseille, as well as Russian heavyweights Zenit St Petersburg.
Every Premier League team features, as well as Leicester City and Southampton from the Championship.
Here is the top 50, ranked in order of their squad cost according to Transfermarkt.
1. Chelsea – €1.18billion
2. Manchester City – €1.03billion
3. Liverpool – €991.95million
4. Manchester United – €945.52million
5. Arsenal – €924.3million
6. Tottenham – €871.2million
7. PSG – €804.32million
8. Real Madrid – €755.5million
9. Newcastle United – €729.25million
10. Juventus – €490.35million
11. Atletico Madrid – €464million
12. Nottingham Forest – €453.15million
13. Bayern Munich – €450.3million
14. West Ham – €444.01million
15. Al-Hilal – €417.05million
16. Barcelona – €411.5million
17. Napoli – €389.1million
18. Aston Villa – €388.9million
19. AC Milan – €384.1million
20. Brighton – €371.92million
21. RB Leipzig – €371million
22. Borussia Dortmund – €368.4million
23. Bayer Leverkusen – €355.75million
24. Bournemouth – €344.45million
25. Brentford – €336.55million
26. Everton – €330.02million
27. Wolves – €329.65million
28. Atalanta – €321.81million
29. Al-Ahli – €303.31million
30. Crystal Palace – €302.74million
31. Al-Ittihad – €293.43million
32. Inter Milan – €287.7million
33. Fulham – €273.85million
34. Monaco – €256.95million
35. Leeds United – €250.19million
36. Roma – €235.9million
37. Burnley – €234.74million
38. Al-Nassr – €231.56million
39. Benfica – €226.9million
40. Galatasaray – €224.73million
41. Leicester – €223million
42. Sunderland – €205.63million
43. Fiorentina – €199.4million
44. Southampton – €195.55million
45. Zenit St Petersburg – €194.73million
46. Villarreal – €188.25million
47. Wolfsburg – €187.58million
48. Sporting Lisbon – €183.5million
49. Porto – €181.04million
50. Marseille – €174.69million