Chelsea have enjoyed a sustained period of success under owner Roman Abramovich since the Russian businessman took control at Stamford Bridge in 2003.
The Blues benefitted from the billionaire’s investment and scooped back-to-back Premier League titles with Jose Mourinho at the helm in 2004/05 and 2005/06.
They then returned to the top of the pile under the stewardship of Carlo Ancelotti in 2009/10 before further titles in 2014/15 and 2016/17.
New research has shown that those latest titles haven’t come cheap with Chelsea investing a whopping €1.31billion in transfer fees since 2010.
CIES Football Observatory have been monitoring transactions across the big five European leagues since 2005, with their data now revealing which teams have spent the most on new signings over the past eight seasons.
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Chelsea are near the top of the pile with their Abramovich-backed investment and have been rewarded with two FA Cups, the League Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League in addition to their league titles.
The Blues have shelled out more than Barcelona, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain but still haven’t spent the most across Europe since 2010 and trail way behind one Premier League rival.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are well off the pace compared to their European counterparts following an era of steady if unspectacular growth under Arsene Wenger.
Relatively recent signings such as Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have pushed their overall expenditure up, although the Gunners have still been frugal compared to the likes of Monaco, Roma and Liverpool.
The Reds have invested heavily in the past two seasons with Virgil van Dijk, Alisson and Naby Keita all costing upwards of £60m while Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane did not come cheap either.
Everton are 15th on the list, one spot ahead of Premier League rivals Tottenham, largely thanks to their summer of spending in 2017 where they forked out over £100m – although only Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane look like long-term prospects at Goodison Park.
Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are propping up the bottom of the top 20 while Valencia and Atletico Madrid are also included in the European elite.