LONDON, Sept 8 — Manchester City continue to boast of the costliest squad among all clubs in Europe’s top five leagues, followed by Manchester United, according to a latest study by Switzerland-based independent research group CIES Football Observatory.

The annual study by CIES crunches numbers across Europe’s elite teams to calculate the cost of every squad based on transfer fees, including all possible add-ons.

This year’s report said that City have committed an estimated 1.08 billion (RM5.3 billion) on their current crop of players, with United close behind in second on 1.02 billion.

Paris St Germain are third with spending worth 939 million, while the top five is rounded off by Real Madrid on 787 million and Chelsea on 780 million.

Liverpool ( 672 million) and Arsenal ( 630 million) are other two English sides in the top 10. Barcelona find themselves in ninth with a spend of 578 million. — Reuters