10 highest spending clubs in the 21st century

#3 Real Madrid - €2.186 billion

Real Madrid have been big spenders in the last two decades.

Real Madrid have traditionally been one of the top spenders in the transfer market, especially in the last two decades.

At the turn of the century, the 'Galactico' era saw a lot of high-profile signings arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu. Most of them inspired Real Madrid to roaring success, both in Spain and Europe.

Gareth Bale (€101 million, 2013), Cristiano Ronaldo (€94 million, 2009), Zinedine Zidane (€77.5 million, 2001), Luis Figo (€60 million, 2000) and Ronaldo Nazario (€45 million, 2002) are some such examples.

However, there have been notable big-money flops at Madrid too. The likes of Eden Hazard (€115 million, 2019), Kaka (€67 million, 2009), James Rodriguez (€75 million, 2014) and Luka Jovic (€63 million, 2019) struggled to get going.

Nevertheless, the club has been strong contenders in major competitions. Carlo Ancelotti's men have looked good enough to win the La Liga title this season, while they have reached the Champions League knockouts after topping their gorup.

---

#2 Manchester City - €2.332 billion

Manchester City have been huge spenders over the years.

Manchester City have been huge spenders, particularly in the last decade or so. The five-time Premier League winners have largely spent money on the right players who have contributed to the club's success.

City signed the likes of Kevin De Bruyne (€76 million, 2015), Ruben Dias (€68 million, 2020), Riyad Mahrez (€67.8 million, 2018), Aymeric Laporte (€65 million, 2017), Raheem Sterling (€63.7 million, 2015), Sergio Aguero (€40 million, 2011) and Ederson (€40 million, 2017).

Other notable City signings include Joao Cancelo (€65 million, 2019), Rodri (€62.7 million, 2019) and Bernardo Silva (€50 million, 2017). This summer, Pep Guardiola spent €117.5 million to bring in Jack Grealish, who has had a lukewarm start to life at the Etihad.

Nevertheless, City have enough quality in their ranks to successfully defend their Premier League title and possibly break their European duck this season.

---

#1 Chelsea - €2.445 billion

Chelsea have spent big in the last two decades.

Chelsea, like Manchester City, have been huge spenders over the last two decades. The Blues have broken the bank to bring in many a world-class player to Stamford Bridge. Suffice to say, most of them have been successful, albeit to varying degrees.

Their first big signing of the decade was former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres (€58.5 million, 2011). Over the years, the likes of Jorginho (€57 million, 2018), Didier Drogba (€38.5 million, 2004), Eden Hazard (€35 million, 2012) and N'Golo Kante (€35.8 million, 2016) and Antonio Rudiger (€35 million, 2016) also arrived at Stamford Bridge.

However, the likes of Kepa Arrizabalaga (€80 million, 2018), Andriy Shevchenko (€43.88 million, 2006) and Alvaro Morata (€60 million, 2017) failed to get going at the club.

In the last two summer transfer windows, Chelsea brought in the likes of Timo Werner (€53 million), Kai Havertz (€80 million, 2020) and Romelu Lukaku (€115 million).

It remains to be seen if the trio can help end the club's five-year league drought and achieve more success in England.