At the turn of the millennium, the world record transfer fee stood at £32.5m when Inter Milan bought Christian Vieri from Lazio in 1999.

How times have changed since.

Just over 20 years on, and that fee would be seen as a mediocre one by some clubs who are all too willing to splash the cash on the brightest stars in the sport.

But, which club has spent the most money since 2000?

Well, according to Transfermarkt, it is Chelsea who top the list having spent €2.4bn (£2bn) during this period on bringing players into the club.

The west London side are closely followed by their Premier League counterparts Manchester City, while European giants Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus make up the rest of the top five.

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Despite seemingly spending a fortune on players, particularly since Sir Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford, Manchester United only feature down in sixth place, after splashing out €2bn (£1.7bn) on transfers. 

Meanwhile, PSG find themselves in equal seventh place, just ahead of Liverpool, while north London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal are neck and neck, having each spent €1.4bn (£1.2bn).

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To see the full list of how much the top 15 European clubs have spent since 2000, take a look at the graphic below...

Transfer spend by 15 European clubs since 2000

Chelsea and Manchester City are leading the way at the moment, and they have shown no signs of slowing down in recent times.

The two sides both spent around the £100m mark for Romelu Lukaku and Jack Grealish, respectively, in the summer, and it would not be a major surprise to see them go big in the transfer market again in 2022. 

Meanwhile, Barcelona have already confirmed their first signing ahead of the transfer window opening in January, with Ferran Torres joining the club to bolster their attacking options.

The current figures spent by all 15 European clubs on the list are simply remarkable, and they are only going to get even more mind-boggling over the coming years. 

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