Benfica was the seventh club that invested the most in the current squad outside the Big 5.
Benfica was the seventh club outside the five main leagues that spent the most on building the current squad, with a total investment of 188 million euros (ME), according to a study released this Wednesday by the Football Observatory (CIES).
Rivals FC Porto and Sporting occupy 11th and 12th positions in the list of clubs outside the big 5 that invested the most in the current group of players, worth 152 ME and 151 ME, respectively, in a classification dominated by emblems English.
The Premier League places eight clubs in the top 10, including the three that spent the most to build existing squads in the 2023/24 season, all above 1,000 ME: Manchester United (1,150 ME), Chelsea (1,134 ME) and Manchester City (1,042 ME), English and European champions.
Paris Saint-Germain, which reached the exact mark of 1,000 ME and occupies fourth place, and Real Madrid, eighth, with 708 ME invested, are the intruders on the list prepared by CIES, which looks like a decal from the English championship.
Arsenal (fifth, with 836 ME), Tottenham (sixth, with 829 ME), Liverpool (seventh, with 770 ME), Newcastle (ninth, with 661 ME) and West Ham (10th, with 505 ME), complete the top 10, according to an assessment that adds fixed transfer values and variables depending on objectives, regardless of whether they have been achieved.
Of the 20 Premier League clubs, only the recently promoted Lutton is not part of the Football Observatory hierarchy, followed by the Italian League, with 15 teams, the Spanish League, with 12, the French and German, both with 11.
Outside the five most important leagues, Al Hilal, a Saudi club coached by the Portuguese Jorge Jesus, was the biggest spender in the current batch of footballers, worth 382 ME, followed by Leicester, with 281 ME, one of the three teams in the English second league. which are on the CIES list, together with Southampton and Leeds.
The Championship clubs are ahead of the three big Portuguese clubs, which, in the general classification, occupy substantially more modest positions: Benfica is placed in 45th place, while FC Porto is 51st and Sporting is 52nd.
By sectors, Liverpool spent the most on hiring current goalkeepers, worth 73 ME, while Manchester United invested more in defense (383 ME), Real Madrid in midfield (447 ME) and PSG in attack (557 ME).
