Shakhtar has one of the cheapest squads in the Champions League. There are only three clubs below the Miners and none of their group rivals

On September 19, Shakhtar will start in the group stage of the Champions League with a match against Porto in Hamburg. The Miners are the underdog not only of the round, but also of their group. Analysts give Shakhtar only a 20% chance of reaching the 1/8 finals of the tournament. However, there is nothing surprising in such situations: in terms of the cost of the squad, Shakhtar in the 2023/2024 Champions League is superior to only three clubs. Moreover, in their group, the Miners have the lowest roster cost.

Below Antwerp

Even Belgian Antwerp, which will play in the most prestigious club tournament in Europe more than fifty years later, has a more expensive squad: 107 million versus 106 for Shakhtar. Porto is three and a half times more expensive than Shakhtar, Barcelona is almost 10 times!

If we evaluate all participants in the group stage, then only three clubs have a roster that is less valuable than Shakhtar. These are Danish Copenhagen, Serbian Red Star and Swiss Young Boys. Note that of the 32 participants in the 2023/2024 Champions League, only the last three clubs have squads cheaper than 100 million euros. Only seven teams out of 32 have a roster valued below 200 million euros.

Seven clubs out of 32 have exceeded the billion euro threshold in roster value. These are Manchester City, Arsenal, PSG, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern and Barcelona. It is in this sequence that they can be placed in a kind of ranking of the “rich” of the 2023/2024 Champions League.

If we talk about the “most expensive quartet,” then this is Group F, which includes PSG (1,231 million euros), Milan (619 million euros), Borussia Dortmund (613 million) and Newcastle (609 million). The total cost of the squads of the four clubs is 3 billion 72 million euros, the average of each is 768 million.

There are chances even when there are none

The well-known analytical company Gracenote gives the Miners only 20% to reach the 1/8 finals of the tournament. The chances of only six clubs are assessed below. Not surprisingly, this top six includes Red Star (7%), Copenhagen (9%), Young Boys (12%), Antwerp (15%) and Braga (16%).

According to analysts’ forecasts, the English Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal, the Spanish Real, Barcelona and Atlético, the Italian Inter, Napoli and Lazio, the German Bayern, Borussia D and Leipzig, the Portuguese Porto and Benfica, will enter the playoffs of the 2023/2024 Champions League. French PSG and Dutch PSV.