City assemble 1st billion-euro squad
NEWDELHI: PROPELLED by free-flowing funds from their owners in Abu Dhabi, Premier League champions Manchester City have become the first ever football club to put together a squad that cost over €1 billion in transfer fees, according to a study by research group CIES Football Observatory.
City’s squad cost the club €1.014 billion while Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-germain, placed second in this list, invested €913 million to assemble theirs. Real Madrid’s €902 million squad puts them at third, with City’s bitter rivals Manchester United fourth courtesy of their €751 million investment in the team.
Juventus, with their €719 million squad, complete the top 5. European champions Liverpool are on 7th with €639 million.
In comparison, German clubs have shown more prudence in transfer spending. Bayern Munich are placed 15th, the highest placed Bundesliga club, with a spending of €352 million on the squad. The study also reveals some interesting details on the disparity between the top and bottom teams in Europe’s top five leagues—premier League (England), La Liga (Spain), Serie A (Italy), Bundesliga (Germany) and Ligue 1 (France). Spain is the worst in this regard, with highest spenders Real Madrid having a squad 148 times costlier than lowest spenders Mallorca.
In France, PSG’S spending on the squad is 114 times that of Nimes, while in Germany, Bayern’s squad is 85 times more expensive than Paderborn’s, who have the least expensive squad across leagues, at €4 million. England has the smallest divide; City’s squad costs 32 times more than Norwich City’s.
A DECADE OF TRANSFERS
The study looks at transfers in these five leagues during this decade. Unsurprisingly, Man City top the list in terms of net expenditure as well. The club has a net spend of €1.091 billion for the period 2010-19. PSG occupy the second spot with a €901 million while United come third with €833 million. Barcelona (€720 million) and AC Milan (€439 million) are fourth and fifth, respectively.
This net spenders’ list is dominated by Premier League clubs, with as many as 12 English outfits being part of the top 20.
On the other hand, French clubs have proved to be shrewd sellers, data from the study reveals. While English clubs have collectively racked up a net spending of €6.488 billion on transfers during the decade, well ahead of Italy (€1.218 billion), Spain (€800 million) and Germany (€758 million), French clubs have drawn net earnings of €359 million during this period.
In fact, 10 of the 20 clubs with the highest net earnings from transfers are French.
Lille, who finished second behind PSG in Ligue 1 last season,lead theway in this metric with net earnings of €249 million in the 10-year period. None of the English top-flight clubs feature in the top 20 of the net earners’ list.