No football manager in history has invested as much money as Pep Guardiola to assemble his squad, with Manchester City spending almost twice as much as Real Madrid. Here are the 10 most expensive squads in football right now.
Tired of reading? Click through the gallery to see the costliest squads in football, as per CIES.
The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), a Swiss-based football statistics institute, published a report on squad recruitment costs in Europe's top five leagues.
City are leading the ranking after spending a whopping €878 million (R13 billion) on their first team squad – more than any other team in the history of the game.
Guardiola's side are leading the Premier league table comfortably with 16 points over cross-town rivals Manchester United, but considering the massive amount of money spent, City need to bring silverware to the Etihad Stadium in order to justify their big outlays in the transfer market.
The Premier League leaders are followed by Paris Saint-Germain, whose squad costs them €805 million (R11.9 billion), including the world record fee for Neymar.
United complete the top three, even though they have spent €141 million (R2.1 billion) less than City, while FC Barcelona are the only other team to have invested over €700 million (R10.34 billion) into their current squad.
Defending UEFA Champions League winners, Real, who were known for their 'Galacticos' strategy have somewhat gone quieter in the transfer market in recent windows and only spent €497 million (R7.34 billion) on their current roster.
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While most of the other clubs in the top 10 don't surprise, Everton sit somewhat unexpectedly in 10th position despite struggling in the Premier League this season. With an outlay of €365 million (R5.39 billion), the Toffees have spend more than European giants such as Bayern Munich (€363 million, R5.36 billion), Tottenham Hotspur (€358 million, R5.29 billion) and Atletico Madrid (€298 million, R4.4 billion).
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