NEUCHATEL: Manchester City have been reported as first club to invested more than €1bn in the transfer market to assemble their squad writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

The report has been issued by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) in Neuchâtel.

Two other clubs come close to City: French champions Paris Saint-Germain (€913 m) and world club champions Real Madrid (€902m).

The great financial divide in European football is illustrated  by the average transfer expenditure per league:

€345m in the Premier League, €167m in both the Spanish and Italians leagues, €124m in Germany and €118m in France.

The CIES Football Observatory

The CIES Football Observatory is a research group within the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES). Created in 2005 by Dr. Raffaele Poli and Dr. Loïc Ravenel, the CIES Football Observatory currently comprises a staff of four full-time permanent researchers who specialise in the statistical analysis of football.

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