Chelsea's squad at the end of the 2024 financial year was the most expensive ever assembled in Europe in terms of transfer fees, according to a report released by governing body Uefa.
The "European Club Finance and Investment Landscape" report said Chelsea spent €1.6bn (R31.4bn) on combined transfer costs.
That comfortably surpassed the value of Manchester United's squad in 2023, which cost €1.4bn (R27.5bn) to assemble, and the €1.3bn (R25.bn) spent by Real Madrid, which was the highest squad cost in 2020.
Chelsea have signed 41 players since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought the club in 2022, but the west London club's big-money transfers have not translated to significant on-field success, as Chelsea finished sixth in the Premier League last season and are currently fifth.
According to the report which analyses all of Europe's top divisions, Real Madrid (€1m), Manchester City (€854m), Paris St Germain (€808m), Manchester United (€771m) and Bayern Munich (€765m) had the highest revenues in 2023.