Tuesday 21 April 2020 11:14, UK
We look at the cost of the Chelsea and Manchester United squads ahead of their much-anticipated Premier League meeting on Sky Sports on Nissan Super Sunday.
All eyes will be on Jose Mourinho as the Red Devils boss makes his first return to the home of the Blues since being dismissed as Chelsea manager last December.
On the pitch, the action will be played out between two of the most expensively assembled sides in Europe.
United's predicted 18-man matchday squad has come at a transfer market cost of £407.3m, while Chelsea's has set billionaire owner Roman Abramovich back £310.85m, meaning the total talent value on the field will be a staggering £718.15 million.
Both sides were active in the summer transfer market and, interestingly, both spent big to bring back a familiar face.
Chelsea sold Brazilian defender David Luiz to Paris Saint-Germain for £50m two years ago, and in August they re-signed the 29-year-old from the French champions for £30m.
Gifted midfielder Paul Pogba left United to join Juventus as a teenager in 2012. In the transfer saga of the summer, the Red Devils forked out a world-record £89m fee to bring the 23-year-old Frenchman back to Old Trafford.
The Stamford Bridge club also brought in Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi from Marseille for £33.2m, midfielder N'Golo Kante from Premier League champions Leicester City for £30m and full-back Marcos Alonso from Fiorentina for £23m.
In addition to Pogba, United signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic from PSG on a free transfer, Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund for £28.5m and Ivory Coast defender Eric Bailly from Villarreal for £30m.
With the presence of record-signing Pogba, United's expected XI has a cumulative transfer total of £280.1m, compared to the £228.9m worth of players likely to be given starting berths by Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte.
When breaking the two sides down positionally, the away side boast a far more expensive goalkeeper in David de Gea: United paid £17m to sign the Spaniard from Atletico Madrid in 2011.
Thibaut Courtois was picked up by Chelsea for the comparative bargain price of £7.9m. The Belgian was signed from Genk in the same summer that De Gea moved to Old Trafford, but the then-19-year-old was immediately loaned to Atletico, where he replaced the United man. In his three seasons at the Vicente Calderon, Courtois developed into one of the finest 'keepers on the continent, before finally joining up with his parent club.
Of the two defences, United's was put together at a marginally higher cost than Chelsea's, with Mourinho's back line being constructed for £72m compared to £67m. However, Chelsea forked out more to bolster their defensive options in the summer, spending a total of £54m on Luiz and Alonso, whereas United's only recruit in this area was £30m Bailly.
The Manchester club will boast a far more expensive midfield trio than their hosts on Sunday. The £155.1m ensemble of Pogba, Ander Herrera and Juan Mata - who was signed from Chelsea for £37.1m in January 2014 - dwarfs the £60m figure of the home side's midfield.
The key battle in the middle of the park will be between two Frenchmen: £89m Pogba and £30m Kante.
With his brace against Fenerbahce in the Europa League this week, Pogba now has three goals for the season and averages 1.7 key passes and 2.6 successful dribbles per game.
Kante has maintained a 90 per cent pass accuracy this season and averages three tackles and 2.4 interceptions per game. The 25-year-old Premier League winner will aim to employ his defensive skills to stifle his creative compatriot on Sunday.
In attack, Chelsea's front three cost almost treble that of United's. The transfer fees of Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Willian add up to a total of £94m. Whereas of the Red Devils' predicted attacking trident, the £36m paid to Monaco to acquire Anthony Martial last season accounts for the entirety of United's outlay in this area of the field.
Ibrahimovic, though earning a substantial weekly wage at Old Trafford, was signed for free, while Marcus Rashford is a homegrown product of the 20-time champions' Carrington academy.
Of the star strikers on display at Stamford Bridge, Ibrahimovic and the in-form Costa will be backing themselves to provide goals on Super Sunday. The Swedish veteran has scored four goals from eight Premier League fixtures so far this season, while Chelsea's Brazilian forward is leading the race for the Golden Boot with seven goals.
Should either Conte or Mourinho need to turn to the bench for inspiration on Sunday, they will each be able to call upon an expensive cast of back-ups.
Chelsea will likely have three academy players among their substitutes, which will lower the overall transfer value of their bench. But their expected seven-man selection still totals a hefty £81.95m in market fees.
The away dugout is expected to contain four £20m-plus stars, with Mkhitaryan, Wayne Rooney, Marouane Fellaini and Luke Shaw all predicted to miss out on the starting XI. With the inclusion of just one academy player, Mourinho will be able to call upon £127.2m of talent if he decides a change is required during the match.
The United boss was criticised for adopting a negative approach to earn a goalless draw against Liverpool on Red Monday. But the Portuguese returns to Stamford Bridge for the Super Sunday clash with a point to prove and an expensive array of talent at his disposal.
And with Chelsea having rediscovered their scoring touch in recent weeks, an exciting encounter is anticipated.
