Manchester United have spent more than any other club to build their current squad, it’s been revealed.
Despite the Old Trafford club owners having been constantly accused of failing to provide funds for the club, a new survey has indicated they are actually the club that has invested the most to build their squad in the global football scenario.
One of the main grievances United fans have held against the club’s American owners is that the Glazer family use the club’s funds to finance their transfer business rather than digging into their own pockets to plough any of their own cash into United. However the latest report has revealed they have actually even outspent Premier League rivals Manchester City and Todd Boehly’s Chelsea to assemble their current squad.
The CIES Football Observatory new analysis reveals the current crop of players at Old Trafford have been assembled at a world-topping cost of £991.7m, with this being a tad more than the £977.9m spent by rivals Chelsea.
Third in line are Manchester City with a squad that has cost £898.5m to put together, followed by Paris Saint-Germain (£862.3m), Arsenal (£720.9m), Tottenham (£714.9m), Liverpool (£664m), Real Madrid (£610.5m), Newcastle (£570m) and West Ham (£435.5m).
United have long been accused of paying exorbitantly for players and these figures, including all transfer fees, spent on their current players somehow seem to carry the implication they have not gotten value on their investments.
The list includes the £80million deal for defender Harry Maguire as well as the £72million they spent on signing Jadon Sancho.
The £85million paid to sign winger Antony is also another massive part of their overall spending in recent years, together with the summer signings of Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund for a combined fee of £132million.
There’s news emerging that United are eyeing Republic of Ireland and Brighton striker Evan Ferguson in next summer’s transfer window as manager Erik ten Hag attempts to find a balance in his shaky squad.
“When Manchester United are not performing, not winning, that’s normal,” said the United boss.
“I would be more in panic if there wasn’t panic — because we have to win. That is the demand.
“Still, I would say panic isn’t the right word. It’s more like, “Come on, we have to act”. We have to think bright and do the right things.”