Barcelona vs Man Utd: who has the more valuable squad?

Stuart Telford

• 15 Feb 2023 20:35 GMT
• 3 min read

Barcelona and Manchester United face off in the Europa League knockout round play-offs on Thursday. Which European giant has the more valuable squad?

Historically, this fixture has been more likely to be a Champions League final than a Europa League play-off - indeed it was as recently as 2011, when Lionel Messi inspired Barca to a 3-1 win over Sir Alex Ferguson's Man Utd at Wembley.

Both clubs have struggled to scale such heights in the years since. Barca were €1.35 billion in debt when they lost Messi on a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021, while Ferguson has cast a long shadow at Old Trafford since his 2013 retirement.

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But both clubs remain two of the biggest brands in world football, though, with some of the game's most expensive players on their books.

Using our sophisticated in-house algorithm, FootballTransfers looks at how the squad values of Barcelona and Manchester United stack up.

Taking the first-team squads of both, United have the edge. Their total transfer value shakes out at €807.1 million while Barca's is €768.4m - a difference of €38.7m in the Premier League side's favour.

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Man Utd more valuable?

But this number can be taken with a pinch of salt: the Blaugrana has 21 players in their squad compared to the Red Devils' 29, so dividing their respective totals by how many players they have gives Barca greater value per player - €38.4m vs. €27.8m, €10.6m better for the La Liga outfit.

Barcelona's most valuable player is Gavi, who was rated at €97.6m per our latest release having been crowned European football's Golden Boy in October. A new four-year-contract signed in September and his tender age of 18 also dives up his value.

United's most valuable is also a midfielder in Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese is rated at €79.1m - which would make him Barca's second-most expensive player if he plied his trade at Camp Nou.