Manchester City have become one of Europe’s top powerhouses in recent times after winning back-to-back Premier League titles in record style.
But it’s not just on the pitch that they are breaking records. Off it, they have become the first club to assemble a billion-euro squad in the history of football, according to the CIES Football Observatory.
After spending €168m (Sh19bn) in the summer, which saw them bring in the likes of Rodri from Atletico Madrid and Joao Cancelo from Juventus, it has taken them over the €1bn (Sh114bn) mark.
TOP 10 MOST EXPENSIVE SQUADS
1) Manchester City - €1.014bn (Sh116bn)
2) Paris Saint-Germain - €913m (Sh104bn)
3) Real Madrid - €902m (Sh103bn)
4) Manchester United - €751m (Sh86bn)
5) Juventus - €719m (Sh82bn)
6) Barcelona - €697m (Sh79bn)
7) Liverpool - €639m (Sh79bn)
8) Chelsea - €561m (Sh64bn)
9) Atletico Madrid - €550m (Sh62bn)
10) Arsenal - €498m (Sh57bn)
That puts them ahead of Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, who brought in the likes of Idrissa Gueye and Abdou Diallo in the transfer window just gone. Real Madrid sit third on the list following a squad overhaul, bringing in Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Ferland Mendy, Eder Militao and Rodrygo Goes.
Manchester United have assembled the second most expensive squad from the Premier League and sit fourth overall on the European list with a team costing €751m (Sh86bn).
Other Premier League sides in the top 20 include Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, Tottenham and Leicester.
Meanwhile, Madrid’s squad is 148 times more expensive than Real Mallorca’s in La Liga, and there are huge gaps between the most and least expensive sides throughout the rest of Europe’s top five leagues too.
PSG’s squad is 114 times more expensive than Nimes while Bayern Munich’s is 85 times more than Paderborn’s. Juventus’ squad costs 63 times as much as Lecce’s while there is the smallest gap in terms of difference in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions cost 32 times more than newly-promoted Norwich.
