It's absurd to see just how much money is spent in football nowadays. Before the turn of the century, a club spending in excess of nine figures was unthinkable. Now, it's all too common.
But lofty expenditure is by no means a guarantee of success. Whether it's in the Premier League, La Liga or elsewhere, plenty of teams have proven they are capable of shelling out large sums on players who turn out to be duds.
Besides, clubs might not need to spend as much to lift silverware, as they are able to capitalise on incredible homegrown talents already on their books. Quite often, it's teams without world-class academies who are playing catch-up in the transfer market.
UEFA have now broken down the 25 teams who have spent the most assembling their squads, taking total payments up until the end of the 2025 financial year into account. 16 have reported club record high costs, but one team has managed to build the most expensive team in football history.
European Clubs With the Most Costly Squads: 25-21
Nottingham Forest new signings Omari Hutchinson and James McAtee pose with their shirts
Fiorentina were one of the clubs to break their squad expenditure record, with their yearly costs growing by 3% compared to overall outlay in 2024. But their total lags way behind Monaco in 24th spot, who forked out an extra £67m to build their current side.
An Italian duo then follow the Ligue 1 side, as both Roma and Atalanta fall just shy of the £300m threshold. But the same cannot be said of Nottingham Forest, who have proven under Evangelos Marinakis that they are not afraid to splash the cash on players if necessary. Signing the likes of Omari Hutchinson, James McAtee and Igor Jesus in the 2025 summer transfer window, expect that number to rise further if they manage to retain their Premier League status.
European Clubs With the Most Costly Squads (25-21)
Rank
25
24
23
22
21
European Clubs With the Most Costly Squads: 20-16
FC Barcelona's Marcus Rashford holds a football
While Crystal Palace aren't typically seen as big spenders in the Premier League, the Eagles do crack the top 20 when it comes to overall squad cost. Splashing £331m on their current team, they're not too far behind Inter Milan in 19th, despite the Nerazurri's status as one of the best teams in the world.
Consistent Champions League competitors Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid then follow in 18th and 17th respectively, but it might be a surprise to Barcelona as low as 16th, with an overall cost of £405m.
Financial limitations have hamstrung the club when it comes to signing players lately, despite them historically spending big on stars. But it's also worth remembering that the likes of Lamine Yamal, Alejandro Balde and Pau Cubarsi all came through the esteemed La Masia academy to become vital components of the team. Considering their success both in Spain and in Europe, it's perhaps the best indication on this list that there's not always a need to spend vast amounts.
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European Clubs With the Most Costly Squads (20-16)
Rank
20
19
18
17
16
European Clubs With the Most Costly Squads: 15-11
Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers celebrates scoring vs Manchester United
Like Barcelona, AC Milan haven't spend big in the transfer market lately due to financial limitations, despite their historic status as a footballing giant. Now, they trail behind Bayer Leverkusen for overall squad cost, with the Bundesliga outfit seeing a bigger year-on-year jump in cumulative transfer fees spent on the squad (44%) than any other team in this list.
Napoli aren't too far ahead in 13th spot, but there are two big jumps to the teams in 12th and 11th respectively. Bayern Munich have shown they are willing to spend big in the past, highlighted by the record-breaking deal to bring in Harry Kane in 2023. But in spite of that, they still trail behind Aston Villa.
Unai Emery's side, in their attempts to catch the traditional Big Six, have forked out money for the likes of Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen and Ollie Watkins over the years, and it seems to be paying dividends at the moment. Villa are in the hunt for Champions League qualification, having missed out by the smallest of margins in 2024/25.
European Clubs With the Most Costly Squads (15-11)
Rank
15
14
13
12
11
European Clubs With the Most Costly Squads: 10-6
liverpool alexander isak
Moving into the top 10, we start to see the sheer spending power that Premier League teams have compared to other sides in Europe's top five leagues. Since PIF became the richest owners in the Premier League, Newcastle have splashed the cash in their attempts to become a dominant force in England. Bringing in Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa among others, their current squad is now worth even more than Italian titans Juventus.
Despite Newcastle's riches, there's a huge gap between them and Tottenham Hotspur in eighth, whose overall squad costs rose by 2% in 2025 as they looked to bounce back from a poor Premier League campaign. And while Paris Saint-Germain have spent nine-figure sums in the past, that's rarer nowadays. Their overall costs actually dropped by 5% in the same year they won the Champions League.
However, the same cannot be said for Liverpool. Having broken the English transfer record twice to sign Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak in 2025, the Reds set an all-time record for costs as their squad totalled at £842m. But, considering the drop in performance this season, perhaps there wasn't a need to spend as much as they did.
European Clubs With the Most Costly Squads (10-6)
Rank
10
9
8
7
6
European Clubs With the Most Costly Squads: 5-1
Chelsea's Moises Caicedo celebrates scoring against Ajax in the Champions League.
UEFA Champions League - Chelsea v Ajax Amsterdam - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - October 22, 2025 Chelsea's Moises Caicedo celebrates scoring their second goal Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra
Real Madrid are one of five teams to break the €1 billion mark, but Los Blancos didn't set a club record for squad costs despite their expenditure rising by 16%. Renowned for their Galactico era of the past, the La Liga giants are the only team outside of England to break into the highest tier in this list.
Arsenal and Manchester United were both the dominant Premier League powers at the turn of the century, but have seen their influence challenged by clubs who have looked to usurp them. While both continue to splash the cash, their overall expenditure on current players is way behind the top two.
Manchester City haven't been afraid to flex their financial muscles, leading the way when it comes to Premier League salaries. But even though Pep Guardiola's team recruited the likes of Omar Marmoush and Tijjani Reijnders in 2025, it's not enough to get them close to Chelsea.
The Blues have been guilty of a scatter-gun approach to transfers since Todd Boehly and Blue Co. took control at Stamford Bridge and attempted to rehaul the squad by signing promising young talents. It's seen them assemble the most expensive squad in football history at £1.53 billion, but ludicrous transfer costs haven't led to domestic success.
There's been a vast amount of turnover and Liam Rosenior's side still seem to be way off the pace in the hunt for the Premier League title. Perhaps there needs to be an adjustment to their approach in the market to make their expenditure more worthwhile.
European Clubs With the Most Costly Squads (5-1)
Rank
5
4
3
2
1