Liverpool have been ranked as the owners of the most expensively assembled squad in world football, with a total squad value of £1.05billion, according to new data from the CIES Football Observatory.
The figure moves Liverpool up three places compared with last year and takes the Reds to the top of the table, a season after Chelsea led the rankings.
The CIES Football Observatory is a Switzerland-based research body that publishes regular reports estimating squad values across the world's leading leagues, using a model based on player age, contract length and on-field performance rather than the transfer fees originally paid.
Once known for shrewd, under-the-radar dealings in the transfer market, Liverpool changed their approach this summer, opting for the best players money could buy rather than filling out squad depth. The eye-catching signing of Bradley Barcola for £123million from Paris Saint-Germain was the club's major outlay of the window, supplemented by deals for Victor Munoz (£35million) and the young Genk goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans (£30million).
Combined with last year's big-money arrivals of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, who are both yet to fully find their feet at Anfield, the outlay has been eye-watering.
Premier League clubs dominate the top six
Liverpool's position at the top is little surprise given the Premier League shattered its own spending record this summer, with English top-flight clubs buying £3.56billion-worth of talent during the window.
Manchester City sit second with a squad value of £1.04billion, their position unchanged from last year. Tottenham Hotspur have climbed three places to third after spending £320million on seven new players, including Savio for £85million, Mateus Fernandes for £85million, Sandro Tonali for £100million from Newcastle United and Jan Paul van Hecke for £52million, while Omar Marmoush arrived with a £65million option.
Chelsea fall three places to fourth, a year after leading the table themselves. Manchester United slip two places to fifth having spent £163million on new additions this summer, a relatively modest outlay by their recent standards. Champions Arsenal drop one place to sixth after failing to land the big-money attacking player they craved, instead spending £194million in total on players including Ezri Konsa, Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis.
Real Madrid lead the way outside England
Real Madrid, managed by Jose Mourinho, climb one place to seventh with a squad value of £876million, making them the highest-ranked club from outside the Premier League. Their major signing of the summer was Yan Diomande, who arrived from RB Leipzig for £120million in a deal that helped the Spanish giants leapfrog Paris Saint-Germain in the table.
PSG drop one place to eighth with a squad value of £785million, one place above Newcastle United. The Magpies' ranking is unchanged in ninth despite losing significant talent over the summer, including Guimaraes and Tonali, with the club moving quickly to rebuild the squad under new manager Matias Jaissle.
Aston Villa climb eight places to 10th after reinvesting funds from the £117million sale of Morgan Rogers to Chelsea. Bayern Munich rise three places to 11th having spent £513million on their squad in total, while Atletico Madrid and Juventus both fall two places, to 12th and 13th respectively.
Brighton's shrewd business and the rest of the table
Brighton & Hove Albion, long praised for their transfer market work, climb seven places to 14th with a squad worth £478million, cheaper than Juventus's group. The Seagulls are also the only Premier League club with a positive net spend over the last ten transfer windows, coming out £28million up over that period.
Ipswich Town's rise up the table is one of the clearest signs of Premier League spending power, climbing 33 places to sit close to Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan. Even relegated West Ham United have a more expensively assembled squad than Roma, Galatasaray and several Saudi Arabian clubs.
Frank Lampard's Coventry City round out the Premier League's representation on the list, with a squad assembled at a cost of £151million as they bid to preserve their place in the top flight.
