Manchester United have spent more money on assembling their current squad than any other football club on the planet.
A new report from the CIES Football Observatory reveals the current crop of players at Old Trafford have cost a world-topping £991.7m - edging the £977.9m spent by Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Manchester City rank third with a squad costing £898.5m, followed by Paris Saint-Germain (£862.3m), Arsenal (£720.9m), Tottenham (£714.9m), Liverpool (£664m), Real Madrid (£610.5m), Newcastle (£570m) and West Ham (£435.5m).
The report breaks down overall expenditure by positions and reveals only PSG have spent more than Manchester United on current forwards.
The Red Devils also shelled out a table-topping £330.3m on their current defenders - despite the club's rearguard woes - while only Liverpool have spent more on goalkeepers.
Real Madrid splashed the most cash on their new-look midfield - having spent £115m on Jude Bellingham alone during this summer transfer window.
Football Observatory figures only include transfer fees for current squad players - factoring loan fees and potential add-ons. Some values differ from Sky Sports figures.
Newly-promoted Luton were the only Premier League club not to feature in the top 100 rankings - while Championship sides Leicester (26th, £242.3m), Southampton (34th, £196.6m), Leeds (35th, £194.9m) and Norwich (80th, £65.5m) made the list, with Italian side Parma (£89.7m) being the only other second-tier team to feature.
Italy's Serie A ranked second for overall representation in the rankings with 15 teams, followed by Europe's remaining 'big five' leagues: La Liga in Spain (12), Ligue 1 in France and the Bundesliga in Germany (both 11).
The Saudi Pro League was represented by four teams and soared into joint-sixth spot - level with the EFL Championship - after the league's explosive summer transfer window.
All four clubs are owned by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, who also own Newcastle - splashing a combined £685.3m on new recruits this summer, according to Transfermarkt figures.
El-Magnificool
976
Man U after realizing the huge amount they spent on flops
Voices
839
this data is the overall expenditure of teams with their current players over the years not just for a single transfer window and the data is quite right. If it were to be in a single transfer window Chelsea would have top no doubt. So Manchester United should know that thier current players are valued more than any team in the world and I will edge them to live to their expectations and this should tell us they are doing everything for the club to succeed but to no avail. they should stop living with their old glories and focus on the present and the future.
kokalmoyz
624
The figures show the actual money spent on buying players currently in the squad, not the market value of the players. Believe them.
VIKINGSB
613
Yet they're criticising Chelsea for over spending 💰. Wonders shall never ends!.
ishti
213
Barcelona & Bayern and Real Madrid are the winners in this list. What a superb team with so little investment
VIKINGSB
174
Man United after realising the huge amount the spent, yet won nothing after six years 🤣😂
Chinagorom1
131
Glazers are really trying The club is ungrateful