10 most expensive squads in football - 2017

€222 million.

The figure that opened a Pandora's box this summer - it sparked a domino effect, with largely inflated transfer fees becoming the norm, thanks to Paris St-Germain purchasing Neymar Jr. from Barcelona.

The spending this summer reached unprecedented levels, as plenty of top clubs in Europe's Top 5 leagues splashed the cash in a summer of excess.

All statistics courtesy Football Observatory, CIES.

Total League expenditure:

#1 Premier League

Unsurprisingly, the Premier League is top of the pile when it comes to the spending stakes, but a sum of €5.7 billion to assemble all the squads is simply eye-watering. It works out to an average of €287 million per team, which is higher than what Borussia Dortmund spend to assemble their squad - the 16th most expensive team in the world.

#2 Serie A

The influx of Chinese owners in Serie A has had an effect, with AC Milan' spending playing a large part in the Italian league spending €2.4 billion, an increase of 26% of last year.

#3 La Liga

Despite the presence of Real Madrid and Barcelona, La Liga are rarely big spenders due to their excellent production lines in the academies of most of their clubs. Spain's top flight spent €2.2 billion to assemble their squads, with an increase in the average worth of teams by 9%.

#4 Bundesliga

The Bundesliga spent €1.9 billion to assemble their squads, with the average worth of their 18 teams being €107 million per team.

#5 Ligue 1

Thanks to Paris St-Germain, Ligue 1's average worth per team went up by a stunning 78%, although their total expenditure is the same as the Bundesliga - €1.9 billion - but with 20 teams in the league, the average worth is €93 million per team.