There is more money in football than there has ever been before. According to statistics put together by the Deloitte Money League, the five richest clubs in the world have a combined wealth totalling over €4 billion. As a result, some of the star players at these clubs are on contracts of up to £300,000+ per week, and many are tied to extremely lengthy deals or locked in with huge buyout clauses.
The fact that financial fair play rules have tried to restrict lavish and irresponsible spending on players has not stopped certain clubs from splashing the cash and creating immensely valuable squads. Ultimately, the business of football is a highly lucrative one, and the amount that top teams are paying to assemble their teams these days is pretty remarkable. In this article, we'll be exploring what the top 10 most valuable soccer teams in the world are in 2024. But before we get into that, let's have a quick recap on spending during the most recent transfer window.
According to The Athletic, Premier League clubs spent over £1.75bn on players over the summer, an extraordinary figure that reflects recent market inflation; just a few years ago, it would have been unheard of for three newly promoted teams to spend £300m between them, but the difficulty of competing these days without substantial investment means that Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton have all spent big on revamping their squads. On top of that, the huge spending of Chelsea and Manchester United combined came to around £400m, with an array of talents including Joao Felix, Matthijs De Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee all coming to the Premier League.
As a result, the English top flight contains some teams with extremely valuable squads in terms of the players' total transfer worth. It's these figures that we'll be focusing on in the next section of this article, as we rank the most valuable soccer teams in the Premier League and the rest of the world.
In the summer 2024 transfer window, the club with the highest net spend was Brighton & Hove Albion. This might surprise some people given their impressive recent record of developing and selling on talent for huge profits, but it seems the club decided to re-invest some of that cash they'll built up over the last few seasons, with a net spend of £139m. However, Brighton's total squad value is still far less substantial than many other Premier League teams. Clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United have spent huge sums on players in the last decade, and while they've been able to recoup plenty of that cash through their own sales (with Chelsea bringing in £147m of sales this summer) that outlay means their teams are extremely valuable when it comes to individual player worth.
According to stats gurus Transfermarkt, the five most valuable soccer teams in the Premier League are Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur. No huge surprises there — but how do they rank compared to each other, and in comparison with the richest teams from the rest of the world?
Over the last two years, the Saudi Pro League has made a real splash, reshaping the global transfer market by offering huge money to some of the world's best footballers. Saudi clubs have managed to attract players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, N'Golo Kante and more, with hugely lucrative deals persuading stars to ditch the top European leagues and move to the Middle East. However, many of these older players were signed for relatively moderate transfer fees, meaning the squad value of the best Saudi clubs is still low when compared to the best teams in Europe.
The most valuable squads in the world remain concentrated in Europe's Big Five leagues: the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1. Clubs like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona have spent huge amounts of money on new players in recent seasons, meaning the total value of these soccer teams is up there with the very best in the Premier League (despite the English top flight being the richest league in the world in 2024). But which club has the most valuable squad of all?
It's crunch time: below are the top 10 most valuable squads in world football.
In recent seasons, Spurs have invested heavily in building for the future. And while they lost star striker and club legend Harry Kane to Bayern Munich last season, their squad remains one of the most valuable in the world. Boasting talents like Son Heung-Min, Micky van der Ven, Timo Werner, James Maddison, Richarlison, and Dominic Solanke, their team is worth an estimated total of €738.6m (roughly £623m).
Under the stewardship of manager Diego Simeone, Atletico Madrid has become one of the best clubs in Europe over the past decade. Founded on a strong team spirit and an underdog mentality, they've managed to win multiple La Liga titles and achieve success in Europe, largely using a transfer model based on developing players rather than flashing the cash. However, in 2019 they shocked the football world when they spent a whopping €126 million (£113 million) on Portuguese youngster Joao Felix, who ultimately flattered to deceive at Atletico. This investment shows just how much money the La Liga club has, and according to Transfermarkt, their squad ranks ninth-most valuable in the world, with a total worth of €753.3m.
In the last decade, Manchester United have spent a huge amount of money on players, and they haven't always invested that cash wisely. That being said, there's no denying that recently sacked manager Erik ten Hag had a wide array of talented and valuable individuals at his disposal. In total, the value of the Red Devils' current squad stands just shy of the €800m mark (€799.9m to be precise). Recent acquisitions like Antony, Rasmus Hojlund, Leny Yoro and Manuel Ugarte have all helped to boost that total significantly.
Some people might think Chelsea's total squad value would be higher than seventh place given the extortionate fees they've shelled out in the last couple of years (in 2023, they broke the English transfer record on two occasions with the signing of Enzo Fernandez and later Moises Caicedo). Their ranking as the third-most valuable English soccer team (valued at a whopping €838.9m) hasn't quite translated into success on the pitch in recent seasons, but new boss Enzo Maresca will be hoping he can begin to turn the club's fortunes around.
The current La Liga champions and Champions League holders (and the winners of a staggering six UCL trophies in the last 11 years), Real Madrid are the most successful club in the history of football. It's no surprise then, that in 2024 they have one of the most prestigious, star-studded squads in world football. That reality was boosted with the arrival of Kylian Mbappe earlier this summer after a lengthy transfer saga; the talent in their ranks for the 2024/25 campaign is outstanding, and Barcelona will do well to mount a serious title challenge against Ancelotti's team. In total, the current Real Madrid team is worth an estimated €855m, or roughly £721m.
PSG sometimes face criticism from fans across Europe who doubt the quality and competitiveness of the French top flight (some people even choose to describe Ligue 1 as a 'farmer's league'). Over the last decade, significant investment from the club's Qatari ownership has allowed them to dominate French football and spend big on a succession of world football stars including Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Lionel Messi, Thiago Silva, and Angel Di Maria. Today, their team is reportedly worth €858.8m, just ahead of Real Madrid's total.
It's been a summer of upheaval at Bayern Munich, as new manager Vincent Kompany reshapes his side with the aim of reclaiming the Bundesliga title from Bayer Leverkusen. Striker Harry Kane will be joined in attack by Michael Olise, while further depth has been added to the squad with the signings of Joao Palhinha, Hiroki Ito and Bryan Zaragoza. The changes leave Bayern Munich with a squad value of €876m, making the team the fourth-most valuable in the world and the most valuable in Germany by some distance.
German coach Hansi Flick has seemingly revitalised a Barcelona side that failed to compete with Real Madrid at the top of La Liga last season, missing out on the title by 10 points. The club's biggest addition this summer was Spain international Dani Olmo, but in recent years Barca have spent much more wildly, and finances have not always been stable. That being said, they still have the most valuable squad in Spain in 2024, and the third-most valuable in the world at €878.7m.
The top two most valuable squads in the world are a pair that have spent the last few years competing fiercely against each other at the summit of the Premier League. In second spot is Liverpool, whose owners FSG have invested heavily in rebuilding the squad over the past few years, bringing in players like Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Dominik Szobozslai and Alexis Mac Allister. For 2024/25, Arne Slot inherits a fresh-looking team, with an enormous total value of €1.08 billion. It's a huge financial leap from third place to second in this table, underlining just how effective Liverpool's recruitment and development has been in recent times.
Despite remarkable points tallies from Liverpool throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side tended to get the better of Jurgen Klopp's outfit. The same can be said when it comes to ranking squad values, although it's extremely tight. Currently, Transfermarkt have City's squad value at exactly the same level as Liverpool's (€1.08 billion); however, Liverpool's squad is slightly bigger, therefore the current Premier League champions are deemed to have more value in their team man-for-man. It's the key reason they've won four consecutive Premier League titles, and why they remain favourites for the 2024/25 campaign.
If you want to check out how this player value translates into actual club wealth, check out our guide to the richest clubs in world football.