According to statistics from the European Football Federation UEFA, as of mid-2023, Man Utd plays with the most expensive squad in the world costing about 1.5 billion USD.
By the end of the 2022-2023 fiscal year, Man Utd’s squad spent 1.53 billion USD in transfer fees, the highest in the world.
Among these are the deals of Antony (108 million USD), Harry Maguire (97 million), Jadon Sancho (92 million) and Casemiro (76 million). The purchases of Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount and Andre Onana for a total fee of 220 million in the summer of 2023 are not included in the data collected by UEFA.
Despite possessing an expensive star cast, everything Man Utd is showing is disappointing. Fans are saying that the management is “throwing money out the window” by spending a lot without considering efficiency.
Reality has shown that despite playing with the most expensive squad in the world, Man Utd only finished third in the Premier League last season, 14 points behind champion Man City. This season, things got even worse when the “Red Devils” fell to sixth place after 24 rounds.
Man City’s squad is the second most expensive, with a total transfer fee of 1.38 billion USD. Man City’s big spending paid off, when they won the treble in the 2022-2023 season.
Chelsea’s squad is the third most expensive, with a total transfer fee of 1.17 billion USD, but fell to 12th in the Premier League 2022-2023 and is ranked 10th this season.
There are six other English teams in the top 20, including Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and West Ham. Meanwhile, Italian football has four representatives, Germany and Spain both have three representatives, and France has one representative.
Newcastle ranked 12th and has a more expensive squad than Bayern. However, this number does not include the $110 million that Bayern spent to buy Harry Kane from Tottenham in the summer of 2023.