They say money cannot buy you happiness but, at the very top of the food chain, it appears that deep pockets can secure you silverware. A recent study by CIES Football Observatory has broken down the total expenditure of top-flight sides across Europe in the piecing together of their respective squads.
Who’s Spent Up?
In England, it comes as no surprise to find that Manchester City (with £409million worth of talent on their books) lead the way – a side with two titles under their belt, various domestic cup wins and the promise of more to come.
Chelsea (£297m) – reigning champions and regular stagers of open-top bus parades – along with back-to-back FA Cup winners Arsenal (£223) also sit inside the top five – an elite group of sides to have burst through the £200m barrier. Within their respective ranks lie some of the most formidable frontmen in world football – Sergio Aguero has plundered 108 goals in just 166 appearances for City, Diego Costa has 22 in 40 for Chelsea and Olivier Giroud 60 in 140 outings for Arsenal.
Is It Worth It?
Who, though, is getting the greatest value for money when it comes to goalscoring prowess? It is difficult to argue that those with the healthiest bank balances are not getting their money’s worth, as any coach/chairman/supporter will tell you that success is measured in trophies – and the big boys have been filling their boots.
You do, however, have to acknowledge that any side capable of writing a cheque for £54m and bringing just one fresh face through the door – as City did this summer in their acquisition of Kevin De Bruyne – would be expected to see some considerable return on that investment.
Numbers
To put that number into perspective, De Bruyne’s fee alone is greater than the total outlay of five Premier League clubs, while their £154m splurge – which also saw them land the likes of Raheem Sterling, Fabian Delph and Nicolas Otamendi – is topped by just six sides when it comes to overall expenditure. It is, therefore, necessary to look outside of the super wealthy when judging who has been carrying out the best business.
The early weeks of the 2015/16 Premier League campaign suggest that Crystal Palace and Leicester City have to be serious contenders in a debate such as this – with both having enjoyed impressive openings.
More Numbers
Leicester have a total squad value of just £52m, but within that group lies talent such as Jamie Vardy, Shinji Okazaki, Leonardo Ulloa and Rihad Mahrez. The Foxes have invested heavily in the attacking department, with Okazaki costing around £7m, Ulloa £8m and Croatian striker Andrej Kramaric a club record £9m, but you have to speculate to accumulate and they have not broken the bank to bolster the most important unit in their squad.
Palace (worth around £70m) have also added well – bringing in Yohan Cabaye and Bakary Sako – and have the potential to be even more potent should the likes of Dwight Gayle, Connor Wickham and Patrick Bamford burst into life, or further investment be made on a proven goal-getter in windows to come.
Even More Numbers
Swansea City must also be applauded for the work they have carried out, with Garry Monk working wonders with a squad that cost approximately £59 million all in.
The Swans have been particularly shrewd – and could easily be considered the best value for money side in the division – with star turns such as Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew, who have both been in sparkling form so far this season, snapped up as free agents.
They also reacquired the creative ability of Gylfi Sigurdsson as part of an exchange deal and have seen modest investment in Jefferson Montero richly rewarded – drawing reports of supposed interest from Bayern Munich. Tottenham Hotspur could offer a similar argument here, given that home-grown hero Harry Kane cost them absolutely nothing, but given how much they have spent elsewhere – some £168m – theirs is a case that is difficult to argue.
Another of those to be punching considerably above their weight, though, are Stoke City – ranked 16th on the list of Premier League squad valuations (£54m) – but a side now firmly established as part of the top-flight fabric and one hoping to kick on having shed their long-ball image and succeeded in luring the more cultured talents of Bojan Krkic, Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri to the Potteries.
Talking Business
It remains to be seen what new boys Norwich City (£40m), Watford (£35m) and Bournemouth (£26m) have to offer, with the Canaries having struggled for goals during their last top-flight adventure, the Hornets having netted just three times so far and the Cherries relying on Premier League rookie Callum Wilson and the hard-working Glenn Murray to do the business for them – with big-money buy Max Gradel having suffered an untimely early-season injury.
- Gradel (pictured left) suffered worrying ligament damage
In Need of Improvement
They all have the potential to make considerably more from being at the top table than they have spent to get there, which is more than can be said for the likes of Newcastle United – a side that sits eighth in terms of squad value (£114m), but one that has bettered that standing in the real world just twice in the last 10 years, with 12 of those months spent in the second tier and the jury still very much out on the latest high-profile arrival, Aleksandar Mitrovic, and the rest of Steve McClaren’s attacking stock.
Sunderland and Aston Villa, who mustered just 31 goals apiece as they struggled last season, also have plenty of work to do if they are to strike the right balance between outlay and reward in the final third, with the pair sitting just below mid-table in the valuation standings (£95m and £92m respectively) but leaning heavily on an ageing Jermain Defoe and Christian Benteke’s successor, Rudy Gestede.
Your Verdict?
Which team do you think is truly getting their moneys worth? Leave a comment down bellow and let us know your thoughts.
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