For decades, football has been the biggest cash machine in Europe’s sports industry. The English Premier League, Bundesliga, and La Liga all attract global audiences, with their clubs generating billions each year from broadcasting rights and sponsorships. However, these titans are also spending a fortune on their squads, much more than they did just a decade ago.
According to data presented by Betideas.com, Europe’s elite football clubs have increased their squad spending by a whopping 78% over the past ten years, reaching more than €10.9 billion in 2025.
Squads Cost Jumped by An Average of €450 Million Per Year
Footballers’ earnings have long fascinated fans, with the best players receiving jaw-dropping salaries and making tens of millions more from heavy endorsement deals. Thanks to their global fame, superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, and Erling Haaland have seen their wealth soar, regularly setting new income records. But these football giants are just the tip of the iceberg compared to the total sums clubs spend on their entire squads.
According to Football Benchmark’s “The European Elite 2025” report, the aggregated squad cost of the top 32 clubs by enterprise value, including total staff costs plus amortization of players’ registrations, totaled €6.1 billion. Just two years later, this figure was already €1 billion higher, reaching €7.1 billion in 2018, and continued rising. The same trend continued in 2019 and 2020, pushing the elite club’s squad spending over €9.2 billion.
While the annual growth significantly slowed from there, rising by “only” €170 million in 2021 and €630 million in 2023, before actually falling by €100 million in 2024, the figure still reached a massive €10.85 billion in 2025, marking a 78% increase over ten years. This means that the top 32 clubs are now spending €3.8 billion more on their squads than they did a decade ago, with the figure increasing by an average of €450 million per year.
The survey also showed that staff salaries remained the biggest expense throughout the period, accounting for between 74% and 98% of total costs, though their share fluctuated over time. Meanwhile, transfer fee amortization has also started to play a bigger role in recent years, making up 26% of overall spending in 2025, roughly 3% more than ten years ago.
Squad Costs are Growing 8% Faster than Revenue
Football Benchmark’s report revealed another interesting fact: the revenue of Europe’s elite football clubs is growing slower than their squad costs. The aggregated operating revenue of the top 32 football clubs has grown by €5.6 billion since 2016, reaching €13.2 billion in 2025. That represents a 70% increase over ten years, or 8% less compared to their squad spending.
Commercial and other operating activities now make up around 80% of total operating revenue, 2% more than a decade ago. UEFA operating streams also grew by 2% in this period, reaching a 13% share in 2025. On the other hand, matchday and broadcasting rights revenue share both slightly dropped, accounting for 17% (down from 18%) and 27% (down from 30%) of total operating revenue today, respectively.