Manchester United’s billion-pound squad breaks UEFA record
Manchester United’s squad at the end of last season was the most expensively-assembled on record, according to a UEFA report.
The Red Devils’ squad at 2023’s financial year-end cost a collective 1.42 billion euros (£1.21bn) in transfer fees, eclipsing the figure of 1.33 billion euros recorded by Real Madrid in 2020.
The United squad at the end of 2022-23 included £82million Brazilian winger Antony, £80m England defender Harry Maguire, £73m signing Jadon Sancho and the £60m Brazil midfielder Casemiro.
Jadon Sancho was one of a number of expensive acquisitions in the Manchester United squad at the end of the 2023 financial year
Further recruits last summer such as Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund are not counted within the figures.
UEFA’s European Club Finance and Investment Landscape report found three other clubs’ squads – Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid – cost more than one billion euros in transfer fees in their most recently disclosed financial year-end figures. Chelsea’s most recent figures go up to the year end June 30, 2022, and therefore do not include their heavy spending in the summer of that year or the January 2023 window.
United have become one of 15 English top-flight clubs recognised within the report as being part of a multi-club investment group, with the purchase of a 25 per cent stake by Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe almost complete. Ineos also holds majority stakes in French side Nice and Swiss club Lausanne.
In all, 105 top-division European clubs (13 per cent of the total number) have a cross-investment relationship with one or more other clubs, the report found.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe outside Old Trafford
There were 31 purchases of majority stakes and seven purchases of minority stakes in
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