February 15, (THEWILL) – Research published this week, by the European football governing body UEFA, has revealed that Manchester United fielded Europe’s most expensive squad during the 2022/2023 season. The report analyses club finances and player investment across the continent.
The ‘European Club Finance and Investment Landscape’ report estimates the total value of Manchester United’s first-team squad for that campaign was €1.42 billion, surpassing the previous record of €1.33 billion set by Real Madrid in 2020. Manchester United invested heavily in the likes of Antony, Jadon Sancho and Casemiro under manager Erik Ten Hag. Their city rivals Manchester City came second for the season with a squad valued at €1.286 billion.
The report also highlights the continued financial dominance of Europe’s elite clubs. Real Madrid, Manchester City, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain were shown to have generated the top revenues in 2022, all above €800 million. Nine English Premier League teams feature in the top 20 revenue generators, with an average of €323 million each.
England’s top division retains its status as Europe’s highest-earning league with total revenues of €3.3 billion. Spain’s La Liga comes second with €3.2 billion, followed by Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1. However, English teams also registered the largest pre-tax losses of €764 million out of Europe’s total losses of €3.2 billion.
UEFA believes these loss figures demonstrate ‘slowing wage inflation and renewed buoyancy in the transfer market’ for 2022. The report warns that revenues of England’s top 20 clubs alone now almost match the combined totals of all 642 clubs in Europe’s 50 lowest-earning leagues.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
