The RB Leipzig and Al-Hilal squads were more expensive to put together than Barcelona’s current squad, but the three of them, together, spent as much as Chelsea. A quick glance at the purchase value statistic on Transfermarkt shows how much in fees respective clubs paid and how it correlates to the current squad value. Barça paid €327 million in transfer fees but has a squad value of €814m—a difference of +€487m
A market value of at least €45 million is necessary to be counted among the 100 most valuable players on the planet. As of September 2023, 110 players meet that benchmark, and 55 play in the Premier League. The other half is spread across LaLiga (18 players), the Bundesliga (12), Ligue 1 (12), Serie A (9), Liga Portugal (2), and the Saudi Pro League (2).
On the pitch, Southampton were relegated from the Premier League, but in the global ranking of clubs with the highest transfer profits in the summer of 2023, the Saints are at the top by a clear margin: the English club cleverly sold their most-wanted players after relegation and generated €162 million profit on the transfer market – a figure that no other club comes close to.
Although Al-Ittihad ultimately failed in their record bid to sign Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, the transfer window was truly historic for the Saudi Pro League. The Athletic reported on Sep. 7, which was the deadline day for clubs based in Saudi Arabia, that Al-Ittihad had made a verbal proposal worth up to €175m for Liverpool’s Egyptian star. That deal would have pushed this summer’s expenditures for SPL clubs past the €1bn mark.
The world’s most popular football stadium in 2022 is not Signal Iduna Park or Camp Nou, but Old Trafford. The reason why Manchester United played their home games at the Theatre of Dreams in front of the most fans on average were not necessarily their performances, although they reached an impressive 2.21 points per home game, but the Covid regulations in many other countries at the beginning of the year.