Revealed: The costliest squads in football, with Chelsea topping the list

The updated list of the 100 costliest squads to assemble in world football has been revealed by the CIES Football Observatory, with 24 English clubs included.

Unsurprisingly, Chelsea top the list for a second consecutive year with their current squad being assembled at a cost of £1.1 billion.

Moises Caicedo – who is ranked at no.6 in FourFourTwo's list of the best defensive midfielders in the world right now – is the most expensive of their countless recruits at a then-British transfer record fee of £115m.

The most expensive squads in football revealed, as per the CIES Football Observatory

The Blues are followed by the rest of the so-called “Big Six” with the two Manchester Clubs close behind, City committing £981m on their current squad and United £931m.

Liverpool break into the top four after a summer splurge which saw them break the transfer record twice on Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, while Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur’s heavy spend puts them ahead of multiple European giants.

Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain are the highest-ranked non-English side in seventh, having spent £759m in transfer fees on their current squad with Real Madrid just behind at £742m.

The Spanish giants have utilised the free agent market to maximum effect in recent years, signing the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Trent Alexander-Arnold, which has reduced their transfer spend.

Both Bayern Munich and Barcelona are listed below Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, which shows the financial might of the Premier League as well as Barcelona’s well-known monetary issues and Bayern’s frugality in the market.

Surprises on the list see newly-promoted Leeds (£243m) and Burnley (£235m) ahead of big-spending Saudi side Al Nassr, and Norwich both crack the top 100 and feature above Celtic despite being out of the Premier League since 2022.

The full list is available from the CIES Football Observatory