Squad reinvestment from the sale of Jack Grealish has cemented Aston Villa as one of the most expensive football clubs in the world.
According to the International Centre for Sports Studies’ Football Observatory, Villa’s current squad cost €351 million, including add-ons, making the club the 17th-most costly in the top-five European leagues.
The figure includes transfer fees for record-signing Emi Buendia (Norwich City), and post-Grealish-sale deals for Leon Bailey (Bayer Leverkusen) and Danny Ings (Southampton). Buendia cost £38 million, while Bailey and Ings arrived in deals rumored to be in the range of £30 million.
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Grealish’s move to Manchester City cemented the reigning Premier League champions as the most expensive football club in the world with a reported cost of €1.08 billion. Manchester United are the only other team on the list to break into the billions (€1.02 billion).
Transfer fees for recent signings have made Aston Villa one of the world’s most expensive squads
Villa’s spending total also includes money spent on keeper Emi Martinez (~£20 million), Tyrone Mings (£20-25 million), Ollie Watkins (£28 million), Morgan Sanson (~£14 million), and others.
Among Premier League clubs, Villa ranked ninth, which is emblematic not only of the financial strength of the English top-flight but the ambition of the club. Less than three seasons removed from playing in the Championship, Villa have reemerged on the global footballing stage, making big-money signings with hopes of challenging for European competition.