Where Manchester United and Man City rank in clubs with world's most expensive squads

Manchester United were the second-biggest spenders in the Premier League in the summer.

Erik ten Hag was heavily-backed by the United hierarchy who sanctioned signings totalling more than £210million. Figures show that only one top-flight rival outspent them, with Chelsea shelling out more than £250m.

As for Manchester City, they spent £125m with £51m of that going on star striker Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. But impressively, Pep Guardiola's side turned a profit thanks to the sale of stars such as Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

But what about the composition of each squad? A new study has looked at the 25 most expensive squads in the world based on transfer fees alone.

And unsurprisingly City and United rank as the top two. The CIES Football Observatory, based in Switzerland, carries out extensive research into finance-related issues within football.

And City are top with a squad valued at just over £912million. As for United, they aren't too far behind at £858m.

Chelsea make it an English 1-2-3, with the Blues' roster coming in at a value of £755m. English sides make up six of the top ten in this list, with Liverpool fifth, Arsenal eighth and Spurs ninth. Of the top 25, there are 13 English teams.

CIES Football Observatory top ten most expensive squads

1. Man City £912m
2. Man United £858m
3. Chelsea £755m
4. PSG £726m
5. Liverpool £666m
6. Real Madrid £618m
7. Barcelona £536m
8. Arsenal £457m
9. Tottenham £445m
10. Atletico Madrid £430m

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