Leipzig & Al-Hilal paid more than Barça – Man United with the biggest deficit

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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, which ranks the Catalans first in that statistic ahead of Bayern Munich, who led it for years. 

Due to financial constraints, the Catalans changed their transfer strategy after 2021 and focused more on players available for free transfers. Those deals increased the squad value without costing any transfer fees. If a player didn’t work out like it was with Franck Kessié and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, they were simply moved on. At the same time, Barça once again focused more on young talent. Players like Gavi, Ronald Araújo, Alejandro Balde, and Lamine Yamal saw their market values explode in recent months, and the club was also able to add loan players João Félix and João Cancelo. Then there is Pedri, who saw his market value increase from €7.2m in 2020 to €100m today. 

Those numbers are good for the financial statistics and led to success in LaLiga. But the most significant sporting success in 2022/23 went to Manchester City in the form of a treble. The Champions League winners had a very different approach than Barça. While the first squad is consistently being improved with top transfers, the academy, too, is producing promising players who either make their way to feature for Pep Guardiola’s team or are being sold with a profit. Man City’s current squad value is €1.18 billion and includes 24 players with an average age of 24.3, but also costs €992m in transfer fees. The only teams that spent more are Manchester United and Chelsea. Chelsea’s 29-player squad cost €1.01bn in transfer fees, and Man United paid €1bn in transfer fees to assemble a team with a squad value of €882m. 

Squad values vs purchase values: Bayern ranked behind Barça 

Although it is just a snapshot, it isn’t a good sign when the purchase value (the cumulative transfer fees paid) exceeds the squad value. That indicates that the respective club has either overpaid, that the market value of a player didn’t increase following his transfer, or, and that would be even worse, both. Not even Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal (-€113m), who went all in this summer, has a higher deficit when comparing purchase and squad value than Manchester United (-€118m). Part of the truth, however, is also that the Premier League clubs and a few Saudi clubs have other financial requirements than Napoli, Dortmund, or Atlético Madrid. 

Even Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have to be careful when it comes to spending significant fees on the market. With a difference of +€467m, Bayern rank just behind Barça and would be first had the Catalans not signed players on loan with a combined market value of €100m on deadline day. Bayern are second because players like Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Alphonso Davies, and Jamal Musiala were all signed at a young age for around €30m together and developed into players with a combined market value of €310m. 

Bayern also like to sign players on free transfers (Goretzka, Laimer, Guerreiro, Mazraoui) or who are on short-term contracts at their respective clubs and can, therefore, be signed on deals below market values—record signing Harry Kane is a rare exception. Thanks to a track record that pretty much guarantees titles, Bayern can attract star players without having to break the bank. And the most important part, Bayern can almost always keep their biggest stars. Bayern currently have a squad value of €897m.