Manchester United sent brutal £1bn reminder as Man City challenge laid bare

Manchester United now have the second-most expensively assembled squad in world football following the closure of the summer transfer window.

According to the CIES Football Observatory, who are a research group within the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), United's current squad, including add-ons, is now worth in excess of £1billion.

Without accounting for add-ons, United spent just north of £220million on new signings during the summer, bringing in five new players. Their business concluded with the deadline day signing of Manuel Ugarte, who joined the club for an initial fee of £42.3m.

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Like the vast majority of big-money deals nowadays, the addition of the Uruguay international featured add-ons, understood to be worth £8.5m. Therefore, the deal could eventually be worth just over £50m.

United have spent a lot of money in recent years to try and put themselves back in touch with the Premier League's elite at the top of the table. It has resulted in them assembling the second-most expensive squad in world football, with only Chelsea spending more.

The Londoners, according to the data collected by the CIES Football Observatory, now have a squad that is worth €1.28bn including add-ons. Without them, the squad has cost €1.15bn.

As far as United's squad is concerned, the add-ons that have been inserted into various deals mean their current squad has cost £1.04bn to assemble, putting them second on the list. Without them, it has cost £901m, putting them third on the list behind cross-city rivals Manchester City.

Continuing to put add-ons aside for a