Manchester United’s current squad is the most expensive ever assembled, with the world record purchase of Paul Pogba having taken their spending to more than £600m – according to research from the CIES Football Observatory.

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The appointment of José Mourinho as manager in the summer sparked a new spending spree at Old Trafford, with Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan joining £93.2m Pogba as the club’s new signings. United also secured Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, although the Swede’s estimated salary of around £10m a year makes him the highest-paid player in the country.

CIES has calculated that takes United’s overall spending on transfers and wages over the £600m mark – more than £160m than they had invested this time last year. Real Madrid had previously been the most expensive in history at £429m, with that figure having increased by more than £100m to £550m. Manchester City are third on £530m having purchased John Stones, Claudio Bravo, Nolito and Leroy Sané, among others, this summer.

English clubs are heavily represented in the remainder of the top 10, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all listed. Tottenham, Everton, West Ham and Southampton also make it into the top 20, while last season’s Premier League champions Leicester are down in 27th on £114m.