Italian media outletย La Gazzetta dello Sportย has conducted some research on how much European clubs have spent on acquiring players in the last 10 years. Some of the results are pretty surprising; other results are, well, to be expected.
The publication reveals that Premier Leagueย champions Manchester City are the biggest free-spending club of all, tossing outย ยฃ1.4 billion over the past decade. They also have a very sizable lead over the second place finishers- Barcelona, who come in ยฃ385,000 less. Real Madrid didn’t crack the top five, surprisingly, and Manchester United are only fifth.
United and Real being outside the top four is a bit shocking, but it’s definitely no shock to see the Premier League comprise half of the top eight, as they have four teams. Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were the only two sides from the big six who didn’t reach the biggest of the big spenders list.
Over the course of this season, both Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho have publicly bemoaned that their side doesn’t have the same financial resources as City, and thus it’s more difficult for them to compete.
Maybe this list gives their arguments more validity.
Eight Biggest Spenders in Europe During the Past Decade
1. Manchester City (England)ย (ยฃ1.4 billion)
2. Barcelona (Spain) (ยฃ1.015 billion)
3. Paris Saint-Germain (France) (ยฃ1.014 billion)
4. Chelseaย (England) (ยฃ1 billion)
5. Manchester Unitedย (England)ย (ยฃ898 million)
6. Real Madrid (Spain) (ยฃ862 million)
7. Liverpoolย (England) (ยฃ820 million)
8. Juventus (ยฃ811 million)
Paul M. Banks runsย The Sports Bank.netย andย TheBank.News, which is partnered withย News Now.ย Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times,ย NBC Chicago.comย andย Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly toย WGN CLTVย and the Tribune companyโs blogging communityย Chicago Now.
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