West Ham‘s squad for the 2024 financial year was more expensive than those of AC Milan and Barcelona, according to UEFA’s latest European Club Finance and Investment Landscape (ECFIL) report.
The annual report into European football finances shows the scale of the Premier League‘s financial primacy over the rest of Europe’s major leagues, with England boasting the four most expensive squads in the region and nine of the top 20.
One of those nine teams is West Ham, whose spending on the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Edson Álvarez and James Ward-Prowse ahead of the 2023-24 season meant they had surpassed traditional giants Barcelona and Milan in terms of the price of their squad.
The Hammers have continued to invest heavily this season, signing Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Füllkrug for substantial transfer fees.
Barça, meanwhile, have been hamstrung by recent financial difficulties, though they did sign Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig last summer. For the 2024 season included in the ECFIL report, only Vitor Roque was brought in for any meaningful fee amid a slew of loans and free transfers.
Milan have been able to bring in the likes of Christian Pulisic and Santiago Gimenez in recent seasons, though much of their spending has been aided by the high-value exits of Sandro Tonali and Charles De Ketelaere.
The ECFIL report also showed that Chelsea‘s spending under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital had catapulted their 2024 roster to being the most expensive squad in football history, surpassing Real Madrid‘s previous mark.
