UEFA release report on Man Utd's record-breaking squad as Chelsea, Man City and Real Madrid also hit £1bn

Manchester United's squad has set a new UEFA record for being the most expensive ever assembled. The team, as of the end of last season, cost a whopping 1.42 billion euros (£1.21bn) in transfer fees, beating Real Madrid's 2020 record of 1.33 billion euros.

The Red Devils' line-up included big names like £82million Brazilian winger Antony, £80m England defender Harry Maguire, £73m signing Jadon Sancho and the £60m Brazil midfielder Casemiro. However, recent additions such as Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund are not included in these figures.

UEFA's report also revealed Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid have squads costing more than one billion euros in transfer fees. Interestingly, Chelsea's latest figures do not include their heavy spending in the summer of 2022 or the January 2023 window.

United is now one of 15 English top-flight clubs recognised as part of a multi-club investment group, with Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe close to buying a 25 per cent stake. Ineos also owns majority stakes in French side Nice and Swiss club Lausanne.

The report has found that 105 top European football clubs, which is 13% of them all, are linked with other clubs through investments. In 2023, there were 31 major and seven minor stake purchases by groups already invested in at least one European club.

Andrea Traverso from UEFA said: "More than 300 clubs are part of multi-club investment groups, leading to an increased risk of seeing two clubs with the same owner or investor facing each other in the same competition, creating potential integrity risks at the European level."

He also mentioned: "The current context demands strict enforcement of cost control regulations and more harmonisation of financial rules between