Real Madrid and Manchester City are engaged in a fierce battle for squad value supremacy. Both clubs, having dominated the Champions League for the past three seasons, boast the most valuable squads in Europe, thanks to the strategic acquisition of renowned stars and the development of young talents under coaches Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti.
Real Madrid’s rising stars include Vinicius, Rodrygo, Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, and Andriy Lunin. Meanwhile, Manchester City features Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, Jeremy Doku, Rodri, Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji, and Nathan Ake.
As of July, Transfermarkt reports that Manchester City’s squad is valued at 1.38 billion euros, with Real Madrid close behind at 1.34 billion euros. Over the past few years, Real Madrid has significantly narrowed the gap. In June 2021, Real Madrid’s squad was valued at 706.5 million euros. Despite winning the Champions League in 2022, their squad was worth 750 million euros. However, the value has surged nearly 80% in two years.
Young stars have greatly contributed to this rise. Vinicius’s value has increased fivefold since joining Real, Rodrygo’s has tripled, Camavinga’s has nearly doubled, and Valverde’s has astonishingly increased 266 times, from 450,000 euros in 2016 to 120 million euros today.
Adding Jude Bellingham, whose value increased by 50% in a year, Arda Güler, and superstar Kylian Mbappe has further boosted Real Madrid’s squad value. It’s likely Real Madrid could surpass Manchester City soon, especially as City might lose key players like Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, and Bernardo Silva.
Besides Real Madrid and Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich also have squad values exceeding 1 billion euros. Arsenal is valued at 1.14 billion euros, Chelsea at 1.08 billion euros, and Bayern Munich at 1.05 billion euros, thanks to signings like Michael Olise and Joao Palhinha.
Transfermarkt highlights that 9 out of the 15 most valuable clubs are from the Premier League. The combined squad value of the 20 Premier League clubs is 11.7 billion euros, compared to 5.1 billion euros for all La Liga clubs combined.
