Revealed: The top 100 most-expensive football squads in the world – Man City’s super-team is just THIRD behind £1.06BILLION leaders

A new study has revealed the most expensive teams in world football and the results will undoubtedly surprise some football fans.

After a hectic summer transfer window that saw Premier League clubs spend more than £1.75billion on new players, a host of star-studded squads have been assembled.

European giants such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG have also entered the market to sign some key players for the upcoming season.

Thanks to the analyses collected by CIES Football ObservatoryThese teams have been placed into a final list to show which team spent the most money on their side.

The research identifies the 100 teams in the world that have spent the most money on transfer fees to recruit their current squad members (both permanent and loan).

Interestingly, Premier League champions Manchester City miss out on top spot and sit in third place, having spent a staggering total of £856 million (€1.017 billion) on their squad construction.

Directly ahead of City are local rivals Manchester United, who despite initial problems have still spent £874 million (€1.038 billion) on their squad.

The Red Devils acquired players worth over £200 million last summer, including Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte and Matthijs De Ligt.

In first place, however, are City and United’s league rivals Chelsea. After another summer of spending, the Blues’ total has risen to £1.06 billion (€1.28 billion).

The top five is completed by North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham, who are in fourth and fifth place respectively.

The Gunners boast a squad that cost £672m (€798m) to assemble, while their local rivals’ squad cost £663m (€787m) after signing players such as Dominic Solanke for £65m.

French giants Paris Saint-Germain are breaking the Premier League trend, with their squad worth a whopping £650 million (€772 million) following the departure of Kylian Mbappe.

The Parisian club are narrowly ahead of Liverpool and Real Madrid, for whom Mbappe left France. The study reports that the two teams have spent around £619 million (€735 million) and £606 million (€720 million) respectively.

Interestingly, Atletico Madrid, who made the biggest transfer of the summer in Argentine forward Julian Alvarez, spent around £418 million (€496 million) on their squad.

If we leave out the five biggest European leagues, Al-Hilal have the most expensive squad, with a budget of £420 million (€485 million).

The Saudi Arabian club has three compatriots under its wing, including Al-Nassr with a salary of £235 million (€270 million), Al-Ittihad with a salary of £197 million (€226 million) and Al-Ahli with a salary of £195 million (€224 million).

In South America, Flamengo top the list with a valuation of £181 million (€208 million), significantly outpacing Botafogo’s squad value of £74 million (€85 million) and Palmeiras’ £67 million (€77 million).

A total of 19 countries are represented in the top 100, with a maximum of 24 clubs representing England (the 20 Premier League teams and four teams from the Championship).

Championship club Middlesbrough are in 100th place on the list. The total value of the squad is £54 million (€65 million), which is enough to make the list.