Manchester United have paid £210m above fair market value for new signings over the past decade – more than any other club in Europe’s big five leagues.
The Old Trafford club have spent a total of £1.4bn on 33 players since 2012, when they were worth just £1.19bn, according to a study by CIES Football Observatory.
Their signings include the £89m signing of Paul Pogba. pounds, then a world record fee, the 85 million pounds spent on Antony this summer and £80m pounds to buy Harry Maguire.
Manchester United – who broke the world transfer record to sign Paul Pogba for £89m in 2016 – have overpaid by £210m on players’ true market value since 2012
£85m Brazilian winger Antony. was the latest addition to the big-money Old Trafford squad.
Jadon Sancho, Romelu Lukaku, Angel Di Maria, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial, Fred and Lisandro Martinez have also cost United more than £50m during that time frame.
The investigation also found that Juventus had paid £208m over the odds on 36 new players and Paris Saint-Germain overpaid by £142m on 31.
In an indication that selling clubs are increasing transfer fees for Premier League buyers, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton also feature in the top 10.
Villa, who have splashed out on the likes of Emiliano Buendia, Ollie Watkins and Leon Baily in recent years, overpaid by £130m on what CIES calculated to be the true value of the signings.
Juventus, who paid £100m for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018, have overpaid by around £208m.
Paris Saint-Germain, who smashed the transfer record to sign Neymar for £198m, were found to have spent £142m more than their market value over the last decade
| Ranking | Association | Transfer fee used (£) | True Market Value (£) | Overconsumption | Players |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 1.4 billion | 1.19 billion | 210m | 33 |
| 2 | Juventus | 903 m | 695 m | 208 m | 36 |
| 3 | Paris Saint-Germain | 886 m | 744m | 142 m | 31 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 506 m | 376 m | 130m | 44 |
| 5 | Real Madrid | 730 m | 601 m | 129 m | 19 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 1.16 billion | 1.04 billion | 120m | 36 |
| 7 | Arsenal | 860m | 746m | 114 m | 33 |
| 8 | Rennes | 323m | 223 m | 100m | 33 |
| 9 | Everton | 655m | 570 m | 85 m | 29 |
| 10 | Borussia Dortmund | 482 m | 415m | 67 m | 28 |
| Source: CIES Football Observatory | |||||
Chelsea is in sixth place, just behind Real Madrid, having spent 1.16 billion. pounds on 36 contracts, which were more precisely 1.04 billion. pounds worth, an apparent overspend of just under 120 million.
They include £97.5m the signing of Romelu Lukaku in 2021, only for the Belgian striker to return on loan to Inter Milan a year later, plus the likes of Wesley Fofana, Kai Havertz and Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Arsenal, just below Chelsea, were found to have spent £114m over the odds on 33 players since 2012, with Everton’s market estimate overspending coming in at £85m.
Chelsea spent almost £100m on Romelu Lukaku but offloaded him after just one season
Aston Villa, who have signed Emiliano Buendia in recent years, are high
Newcastle United, Leicester, Southampton, Liverpool and West Ham also feature in the top 20, with other English top teams not too far behind.
In contrast, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona ranked best for making smart signings below actual market value, while Wolves came out best of the Premier League clubs.
Ranked the best of all clubs in Europe’s top five leagues, Atletico spent £520m on new signings during the decade, when their true market value was £592m.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have spent £1.29bn on players, but they had a combined market value of £1.32bn.
Wolves made a profit of over £18m when transfer fees and actual market value are compared.
The CIES data excluded players signed by triggering buy-out or option-to-buy clauses, with market values assessed by their own scientific methods.
