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Here's a fact: The Premier League is the richest football league in the world.
According to the 'Forbes' List Of The Most Valuable Clubs In The World', eight out of the top 20 teams are playing in the Premier League.
Manchester United is at the very top of these rankings with a revenue of $850 million. The other English clubs that make the list are: Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United & Leicester City.
To further substantiate the riches of the Premier League, let's look at TV broadcasting rights.
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On account of its global popularity, the Premier League invites exorbitant bidding for its broadcasting rights. The latest deal is yet to be announced. However, if reports are to be believed, the league is looking for an increase in its current £5.14 billion domestic television deal.
That's a lot of money. And that's one of the main reasons why clubs in the Premier League can spend some crazy money players.
Yes, crazy. There's no better word to describe today's hyper-inflated transfer market.
Last season, Manchester City broke the record of having the most expensive squad that football has ever seen. They spent €878 million on roughly 25 players. That's approximately € 35 million per player.
Manchester City wasn't the only Premier League team that splashed the cash last season. The other-side of Manchester wasn't too far behind either.
The 2017-2018 squad of Manchester United was the third most expensive football squad in the world- worth £ 747 million.
Just to put the Premier League's riches into perspective again; here's another alarming statistic. Six other Premier League squads were worth more than €200 million last season. Forget the big names now.
Everton's squad was worth €365 million. Southampton's squad was worth €229 million. Even a team such as Crystal Palace, who were fighting for relegation last year, had a squad that was worth €225 million.
Hence, it should come as no surprise to find out that the Premier League is home to some of the most expensive footballers in the world.
The most expensive Premier League XI will be playing the 4-3-3 formation.
Goalkeeper
Allison Becker (Liverpool) - £67 million
Not so long ago, Allison Becker was made the world's most expensive goalkeeper. To get him that title, Liverpool had to pay Roma £67 million to bring him to Anfield. The transfer fee that Liverpool have paid for Allison comfortably surpasses the fee paid by Manchester City last season to sign Ederson from Benfica. Before his move to Liverpool, Allison's future had entailed a lot of discussion. At one point in time, he was very strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid. After having a fantastic season at Roma, the higher-ups at Roma knew that his departure was soon coming. Having established that fact, it went on to become a case of getting the most value out of him. At the end of the day, his world-record fee transfer to Liverpool made everyone happy: Roma, Liverpool & the almighty Kops.
Defenders: Manchester City raised the market value for defenders tremendously through their signings over the last two seasons. Six out of the ten most expensive deals done for defenders have been done by Manchester City. Hence, it should come as no surprise that three out of the four most expensive premier league defenders are from Manchester City. The one remaining spot is taken up by a Red- a Liverpool Red.
Fun fact: This is the most expensive backline in the entire world.
The most expensive wall in football history costs a total of £237 million.
Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City) - £52M
Manchester City signed Benjamin Mendy from Monaco for a record fee of £52 million in the summer transfer window of the 2017-2018 season. However, much to his and his clubs disappointment, he incurred a serious injury in practice and as a result of which, he missed the entire last season. At the time when Mendy signed for Manchester City, he was the world's most expensive defender. He still has four long years left on his contract and Manchester City will be hoping that he will be able to repay their investment with considerable 'interest'. Powerful and direct, Mendy is one of the best left-backs in the Premier League.
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City) - £57M
In January 2018, Manchester City broke their own transfer fee record by signing French defender, Aymeric Laporte for £57 million from Athletic Bilbao. In order to prise him away from the Spanish club, City was required to meet the release clause as stipulated in his contract. The release clause of £57 million was no small amount but Pep Guardiola considers him to be one of the best young defenders in the world. In Spain, he's made a name for himself as a strong center back who's good with the ball at his feet. With all that being said, he's yet to make a considerable impact on the Premier League.
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) - £75M
By the time Liverpool signed Virgil van Dijk in the winter transfer window of the 2017-2018 season, Southampton had already gained a reputation for being Liverpool's 'feeder club'. Keeping that in mind, it came as no surprise when van Dijk chose to join Liverpool. However, his transfer fee raised the eyebrows of everyone in the footballing industry. £75 million is no small amount. And never in football's history, until then, had such a lofty figure been associated with a defender. By signing van Dijk for £75 million, Liverpool broke the transfer fee record for the most expensive defender in the world by £22 million. With all that being said, van Dijk has proved to be a solid investment and has the potential to be one of the best center backs in the world.
Kyle Walker (Manchester City) - £53M
When Manchester City signed Kyle Walker from Tottenham Hotspur, he was the most expensive defender in the world. City completed his signing just months after making Mendy the most expensive defender in the world. Mid-season in 2016, Walker and Pochettino had a falling out. This opened an opportunity for him to join Pep at City next year. In the summer of 2017, Tottenham cashed in on Walker for £53 million. As one of the best full-backs in England, his stock was already on the high. Walker is a great crosser of the ball and is extremely comfortable with the ball at his feet- a trait that Guardiola looks for in all his defenders.
Midfielders: Midfielders are the creative hubs of the team. All the play goes through them. There's a popular saying in football, "The team that controls the midfield, controls the game." Hence, it's not surprising to see teams spend the big bucks on these players. Before Phillipe Coutinho's departure to Barcelona, the Premier League had the world's most expensive midfielder in the likes of Paul Pogba. In fact, Pogba is the most expensive player in the Premier League-all positions combined.
The total transfer sum of the midfield three amounts to £222.85 million.
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) - £68.4M
Keyin De Bruyne has had a funny affair with the Premier League. He signed a five-and-a-half-year with Chelsea in the summer of 2012. His spell at Chelsea was accompanied by a number of loan spells which ultimately culminated in his sale to Wolfsburg in 2014. Wolfsburg signed him for a mere sum of £18 million. By the end of his spell at Wolfsburg, De Bruyne had made a name for himself as one of the best creative midfielders in Europe. Manchester City recognized this potential and signed him for £68.4 million in the summer of 2015. At that point in time, De Bruyne was the second most expensive player in British football history.
Fred (Manchester United) - £61.2M
Manchester United completed the signing of Fred from Ukranian side Shakhtar Donetsk for a transfer in the region of £61.2 million. The transfer fee in itself accounts to £52 million- the rest being valued in terms of add-ons to the deal. Manchester United fans expect a lot from their new signing. Fred had a fantastic season with Shakhtar Donetsk and earned a call-up to Brazil's World Cup squad. He's a complete workhorse. Primarily, he's a defensive minded midfielder however, he's great moving forward as well. He has this uncanny ability in that he knows exactly when to pick a pass. What makes him especially dangerous in the midfield are his long-range shots. Much to the dismay of the goalkeeper, he isn't shy of shooting from 25-30 yards out and when he connects-boy does he connect!
Paul Pogba (Manchester United) - £93.25M
Paul Pogba symbolizes clever transfer market business. In 2012, he left Manchester United for free to go and play for Juventus. Four-years later, he returned to Manchester United as the world's most expensive midfielder. Manchester United were successful in bringing him back to Old Trafford for a record fee of £93.25 million. In fact, at the time Paul Pogba signed for Manchester United, he was the world's most expensive player surpassing the world record fee that Real Madrid had paid to secure the services of Gareth Bale. Since then, Pogba has been a dynamic figure at the club. He is undoubtedly one of the best midfielders in the world and it comes as no surprise that, he's now subject to another world record-fee move away from Manchester United this time.
Forwards: Years ago, forwards were the only players that clubs were willing to splash the cash on. However, as you can see, that trend has definitely disappeared. The forward positions is where the 'Most Expensive Premier League XI' lacks. While there's no denying the obvious quality of these strikers, none of them are yet truly 'world-class'. But with the quality of players playing behind them, this frontline is definitely capable of banging in the goals.
The total amount of money spent on these three players equals to: £205 million.
Alvaro Morata (Chelsea) - £70M
Career-wise, Morata's life has been a roller coaster. He started off his career at his dream club-Real Madrid. After failing to break into the first-team there, he moved to Juventus. At Juventus, he proved his critics wrong and went on to become a prolific goalscorer for them. That successful-spell away from the club earned him a call back to the Bernabeu. After failing to break into the first team yet again, he moved to Chelsea for £70 million with the reputation of being one of the most prolific goalscorers in Europe. His transfer fee broke a few records. He went on the become the most expensive Spanish player to play in the Premier League as well as being Chelsea's record signing.
Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United) - £75M
Romelu Lukaku is another Chelsea player who just couldn't click at the club and moved on to fulfill his potential elsewhere. After a very successful spell at Everton, Lukaku became subject to a tug-of-war between Chelsea and Manchester United. At the end of the day, Manchester United proved to be the more tempting option for him and once United agreed to the £75 million fee with Everton, it was only a matter of formality. The deal does not include the value of add-ons and the player value imposed by the club. Taking these two into account: a further £25 million gets added on to his initial transfer fee.
Pierre-Emerick-Aubameyang (Arsenal) - £60M
Arsenal were lucky to sign Aubameyang at such a bleak time in their club's history. Aubameyang arrived at Arsenal as a proven goal-scorer having proved his pedigree in the Bundesliga. For the four seasons that he was at Dortmund, he was always up there competing with Lewandowski for the Golden Boot. The Gunners being hard negotiators failed to comply with the £70 million valuation that Dortmund had put on their star-striker. After much debate, a fee around the region of £60 million was agreed by both the parties. Aubameyang becomes Arsenal's club-record signing and adds goals to their squad-something that they lacked since Van Persie's departure.
The most expensive Premier League Starting XI amounts to: £664.85 million.
