Top 5 spending football clubs of all time

"Why couldn’t you beat a richer club? I’ve never seen a bag of money score a goal." Johann Cruyff said this. While Cruyff was right about the fact that having money is not everything, in this day and age, it certainly helps. If you have money, you can buy good players which surely increases your chances of doing well.

We have seen clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City, and PSG compete with the European giants as they have been backed by billionaire owners. Recently FDOR conducted a study to rank the clubs who have spent the most in history.

We noticed that Italian clubs were the highest spenders in the 1990s and the early 2000s. Only Real Madrid and Barcelona could compete with them in terms of spending, while English clubs like Chelsea and City also splashed the cash. In the last decade, English clubs have been the highest spenders and they dominate the list.

#5 Barcelona (€ 926 million)

Barcelona was one of the highest spenders in the early 1990s, when only Italian clubs had a higher net spend than the Catalan club. Soon their reliance on the transfers reduced with the emergence of a brilliant crop of La Masia graduates.

Academy graduates like Andreas Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Xavi, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and many more took the club to new heights. This brilliant youth system ensured that the Catalan club did not need to dip into the market too often to buy success. Barcelona had their golden period between 2006-2015 when they won four Champions League titles.

Most of the stars of that squad have retired now, so Barcelona board had to spend big in recent seasons. Signings of Coutinho and Dembele have dragged them into the top five in this list ahead of a club like PSG, who are big spenders themselves.

#4 Real Madrid (€ 990 million)

It is surprising to see Real Madrid not in the top three. The club has been famed for their Galacticos policy under the club president Florentino Perez. In the first tenure of Perez as the club president, the club spent huge cash to bring some superstars to the club. Perez signed Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, and David Beckham in the successive transfer windows between 2000 and 2003.

The policy was a hit initially as Real Madrid won two La Liga titles and one UCL in that period. Perez followed the same policy in his second stint after being re-elected as president. Real Madrid broke the world record for most expensive signing to buy Cristiano Ronaldo, then they did the same thing to bring Gareth Bale to the club.

The spending has reduced in recent times, as Perez was not in a mood to change a winning team. The club had won four UCLs in five years, but they were knocked out by Ajax in the round of 16 this season. This exit from UCL might trigger another huge summer spending in the next season.

#3 Manchester United (€ 1.008 billion)

Manchester United is one of only three clubs to spend more than a billion euros. Most of this spending has been done since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson as the club has struggled to maintain its position among the European elites. They have broken British records and world records for the highest transfer fee in this period.

The Red Devils broke the world record for highest transfer when United paid 89 million pounds to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus. The club's spending seems to lack proper direction and vision as most of the signings in the last few years have proved to be a waste of money.

Manchester United has done well under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but losses in last two matches is a reminder that they need more signings. The next summer will be crucial for Manchester United as they need to ensure that they don't repeat the mistakes of the last few transfer windows.

#2 Chelsea (€ 1.103 billion)

When Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003, the club had not won a league title in the last 48 years. The Russian billionaire splashed a lot of cash in his quest to position Chelsea among the European elites. The club based in the English capital has won five league titles and one Champions League in his tenure.

The Russian owner had spent an eye-watering 121 million pounds in his first season as Chelsea owner. This used to be a huge sum in that era, and this huge spending continued for years.

In the last few years, Chelsea's transfer spending has reduced as the introduction of FFP has made it difficult for clubs to overspend. After winning the league title in 2017, Chelsea has struggled to even feature in the title race. FIFA's decision to impose a transfer ban for two transfer windows have further compounded their problems.

#1 Manchester City (€ 1.346 billion)

Manchester City was always considered as the poor cousin of Manchester United. The fortunes of the club changed in 2008 when the club was bought by Sheikh Mansour. The club transformed forever and reshaped the top end of the English Premier League.

According to a report, the club has suffered losses of more than £ 500 million, but the club has done very well on the pitch. The performances on the pitch have translated to profits off the pitch as the popularity of club has soared. The value of the club has increased tenfold from 2008, as it is now valued at an incredible £ 2 billion.

They have won three leagues titles in the last six seasons. Pep Guardiola's men have already won Carabao cup this season and are in contention in other three competitions. The City project has shown no signs of slowing down, and the club can reshape the top end of UCL like they have done in the EPL.