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Which EURO 2016 squad is worth the most?

This month the nations of Europe will do battle on the pitch in hope of being crowned Euro 2016 champions and hoisting aloft silverware in Paris on July 10. As Greece proved in 2004, it's not always about a star studded squad, but which of this year's offerings boast the most value?

Total Sport decided to take a look through the respective final 23-men squads of each of the competing nations to determine which held the most transfer value.

Below are the teams in transfer value, from lowest through to the highest. Do any of these surprise you?

24 | HUNGARY | Total value: €27.3m

The lowest budget of all the teams in the competition, Hungary find themselves as the rank outsiders in terms of value. Bernd Stock will be hoping his side can recapture the spirit of the 'magnificent magyars', the national side of the 1950s, a team who became famous for implementing 'total football'.

23 | NORTHERN IRELAND | Total value: €35.9m

Northern Ireland follow closely behind the Hungarians with a low budget 23 man ensemble. The Northern Irish supporters won't care however, providing their team steps up to the big occasion and striker Will Grigg does, as his chant proudly proclaims, "scores more and more".

22 | ALBANIA | Total value: €40.9m

The small nation on the Balkan peninsula comes in with a marginally more expensive squad than the Northern Irish. The Albanians won't be fancied by many to make much of an impact in the tournament, though in Lorik Cana they have an experienced midfield general who could lead them to a few surprise results.

21 | ICELAND | Total value: €41.6m

Perhaps surprisingly the Iceland squad is only marginally more valuable than that of Albania's. Big Premier League names such as Glyfi Sigurdsson carry high value, though the periphery of the squad are relatively low budget.

20 | ROMANIA | Total value: €56m

The Romanians bring few high profile names to table, with the most prominent being Watford goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon or Napoli's Vlad Chiriches, subsequently meaning squad collectively costs little over the transfer fee of Raheem Sterling.

19 | CZECH REPUBLIC | Total value: €64.5m

A nation known for big names throughout their history, the Czech Republic personnel tend to go on the move for relatively small fees in the transfer market. Former Arsenal midfielder Tomasz Rosicky and current Arsenal 'keeper Petr Cech form the biggest names in this squad.

18 | SWEDEN | Total value: €86.9m

Unsurprisingly the vast portion of Sweden's squad value comes from the all-consuming Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has racked up more transfer value throughout all of his big money moves than most domestic clubs spend on their entire squads. 

17 | REPUBLIC OF IRELAND | Total value: €89.3m

The general stock of the Republic of Ireland squad is relatively high, despite no one-man carrying a large transfer value. Robbie Keane, Aiden McGeady and Shane Long are all examples of players who have moved from club to club, mounting up value as they go.

16 | SLOVAKIA | Total value: €91.1m

Slovakia are another team who boast a few big money players, namely midfielder Marek Hamsik who plys his trade in Serie A. Liverpool's Martin Skrtel makes up another big name in the centre of defence.

15 | AUSTRIA | Total value: €128.4m

Premier League winner Christian Fuchs of Leciester City (Yes, we're still struggling to get over the fact that they did it) will be prowling the back line for Austria. He holds value, so too does the likes of his team mate and captain David Alaba, along with Stoke City striker Marko Arnautovic. 

14 | UKRAINE | Total value: €128.7m

A relatively unknown squad, but one which has accumulated value as a collective. Sevilla winger Yevhen Konoplyanka is one of those who sealed a sizeable move last summer, along with experienced 37-year-old Anatoliy Tymoshchuk who has amassed value across a long spanning career.

13 | RUSSIA | Total value: €133.5m

The big name of the Russia set up used to be Andry Arshavin, though those days are long gone. To the average football fan the Russia squad may seem relatively unknown, though their personnel have reasonable stock thanks to several high profile moves within their domestic league.

12 | WALES | Total value: €168.6m

It's difficult not to have a fairly expensive squad when your in receipt of the world's most expensive footballer. The team's talisman, Gareth Bale, saw his value rocket out of the stratosphere when he put pen to paper on his deal with Real Madrid. Costing a reported £85.3 million, Bale's value alone surpasses the first six teams in this list.

11 | SWITZERLAND | Total value: €172.5m

Midfielder Granit Xhaka has only recently increased the stock of the Swiss team after completing his move to Premier League side Arsenal, meaning the men in red are worth a collective 172.5 million euros. Xherdan Shaqiri is another big name player, who has graced both the Allianz Arena and the San Siro, costing Bayern Munich and Inter Milan big money in the process.

10 | POLAND | Total value: €175.3m

Poland will be potentially fielding the best striker in the world at Euro 2016, if you buy into certain debates. Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski will lead the line for the Poles, and carries a hefty price tag following his Dortmund move. Midfielder Piotr Zielinski is being eyed by many of Europe's top clubs and is hotly tipped to be the next big money move following the tournament.

9 | TURKEY | Total value: €186.1m

Worth just over ten million pounds more than Poland, the Turkish set-up boasts the likes of Barcelona's Arda Turan, Dortmund's Nuri Sahin and experienced marksman Burak Yilmaz, who now plays his football in China.

8 | ITALY | Total value: €272m

Perhaps surprising that their squad isn't worth more money, the Italians come in at eighth. Few of the Italian squad have made high profile moves in recent seasons, though the Azzuri are sitting on potential gold mines with the likes of Fiorientina's Federico Bernardeschi and Napoli's Lorenzo Insigne.

7 | CROATIA | Total value: €272.3m

Croatia don't immediately spring to mind as a squad bursting with value, although with the presence of Luka Modric anchoring their midfield they have a multi-million pound Galactico. Targetman Mario Mandzukic has also been something of a journeyman during his career, steadily increasing both his stock and reputation.

6 | PORTUGAL | Total value: €321.7m

Cristiano Ronaldo, debatably the best player in the world, leads Portugal into the Euros as their captain and comfortably their most expensive player. Youngster Renato Sanches has just completed a bumper deal to Bayern Munich while veteran defender Ricardo Carvalho has commanded a huge fee every time he has moved clubs throughout his career.

5 | ENGLAND | Total value: €446m

The three lions come in at fifth, with a squad worth just under the 450 million mark. While English players have a reputation for being notoriously overpriced, the lack of a eye-watering transfers to overseas clubs prevent England from jumping into the top four. Raheem Sterling's single move to Manchester City however stands as one of the single most expensive within the list.

4 | FRANCE | Total value: €454m

The hosts are widely tipped to win the tournament in their own back yard, yet do not have the most expensive of the squads. This could very likely change in the near future should wonderkid Paul Pogba move on following the tournament - a move which many media outlets report could be the first brokered deal to breach 100 million.

3 | BELGIUM | Total value: €460.9m

Despite being one of the smallest nations in the tournament, it will come as little surprise to football fans that Belgium boast one of the most expensive squads heading to France. The last few years has seen a boom in Belgian talent hitting the big time, and many of the world's top domestic football clubs have worked quickly to secure them on big money deals.

2 | SPAIN | Total value: €557.5m

The reigning European champions come in as the second most luxurious team when it comes to expense. Despite comprising many of the stars of Barcelona and Real Madrid as usual, this year's Spanish offering raised a few eyebrows because of the omissions of the likes of Diego Costa, Fernando Torres and Isco. Opting for youth, many of the Spanish starlets have already seen themselves make big money moves in recent years, Thiago Alcantara being a prime example.

1 | GERMANY | Total value: €562m

The current world champions stand proudly as number one, flaunting their financial might. Of course, transfer value is of no actual use to national teams, though it is directly indicative of the calbre of personnel within their ranks. Defender Mats Hummels has recently secured a big money move, while Mesut Ozil still stands as one of the most expensive players the Premier League history. Joachim Low will be hoping his star-studded side can live up to their value and translate it directly into tournament-winning form.

 

*Transfer values collected from the most recent data provided by Transfermarkt.

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