The CIES Football Observatory have released the sums spent on transfer fees by clubs in the top 5 leagues in Europe to assemble their current squads.

Modern football continually throws up obscene numbers relating to transfers of players which, when combined, gives us an ever more outrageous total.

According to numbers published by the CIES Football Observatory, topping the list is Manchester United who have spent £634.5m (€718m) to put together their current playing group.

Jose Mourinho's Red Devils sit well ahead of Spanish giants and reigning European champions Real Madrid, crosstown rivals Manchester City, Catalan powerhouse Barcelona and Premier League heavyweights Chelsea, who round out the top 5.

Check out the top 20 from CIES below:

Transfer expenditure to assemble squad

1. Manchester United (Premier League) - €718m (£634.5m)

2. Real Madrid (La Liga) - €634m (£560m)

3. Manchester City (Premier League) - €611m (£539.7m)

4. Barcelona (La Liga) - €485m (£428.5m)

5. Chelsea (Premier League) - €481m (£425m)

6. PSG (Ligue 1) - €455m (£402m)

7. Juventus (Serie A) - €395m (£349m)

8. Arsenal (Premier League) - €381m (£336.6m)

9. Bayern Munich (Bundesliga) - €357m (£315m)

10. Liverpool (Premier League) - €356m (£314.5m)

11. Inter Milan (Serie A) - €295m (£260.6m)

12. Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League) - €274m (£242m)

13. Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga) - €237m (£209.4m)

14. Everton (Premier League) - €212m (£187m)

15. Monaco (Ligue 1) - €202m (£178.5m)

16. AS Roma (Serie A) - €201m (£177.6m)

17. Napoli (Serie A) - €200m (£176.7m)

18. Atletico Madrid (La Liga) - €199m (£175.8m)

19. West Ham United (Premier League) - €196m (£173.2m)

20. Southampton (Premier League) - €182m (£160.8m)