Manchester City become the first club ever to put together a €1 billion squad

What’s the story?

According to a study by CIES Football Observatory, Manchester City have become the first club to inject over a billion euros to create their current squad. They have spent €1.014 billion on their players to be exact.

In case you didn’t know…

Pep Guardiola has been the mastermind behind Man City's recent success

In the summer of 2008, Manchester City was taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group. On the final day of the summer transfer window, City smashed the British transfer record when they acquired Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5 million.

Since then, the club has invested heavily in the transfer market in their bid for domestic and European dominance. They have won 4 Premier League titles, 2 FA Cups and 4 League Cups.

Pep Guardiola has played a major part in City’s success after he was acquired by the club in 2016. Out of the 10 trophies that City have won since 2008, Guardiola has contributed to half that amount, proving his impact in English football.

In the 2017-18 season, the Spanish manager broke multiple records as he lifted City’s fourth Premier League trophy, including most points in a season, the magic 100. Last season, the Spanish manager achieved the unprecedented feat of winning the domestic treble.

The heart of the matter

Neymar and Mbappé form part of PSG's squad, which is the second costliest in the world

CIES state that Man City have the costliest squad in the world at a whopping €1.014 billion. Just behind the leaders are Paris Saint-Germain (€913 million) and Real Madrid (€902 million).

Manchester United possess the second most expensive English squad (€751 million) while Juventus round out the top five (€719 million).

Another statistic that emphasizes the billion euro point is that City’s squad is 32 times more expensive than that of the cheapest squad in the Premier League: Norwich City.

However, this gap is not as wide as that between the most expensive and cheapest squads in LaLiga. According to the study, Real Madrid’s roster is 148 times more expensive than that of Mallorca.

All of this just proves the colossal spending power of the big players in European football.

What’s next?

Funnily enough, Man City’s next match is against Norwich on Saturday. Will City’s pricey squad overpower the opposition, or will the underdogs spring a surprise and prove that money isn’t always the answer? We will have to wait and see this weekend.