Top 10 revealed 

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After five match-days of the Champions League league phase, Norwegian side Bødo/Glimt were winless and sitting down in 32nd place in the table. What has followed has been nothing short of a miracle. Kjetil Knutsen’s team drew 2-2 away at Borussia Dortmund, beat Manchester City 3-1 at the Aspmyra Stadion, and then went on to win 2-1 away at Atlético Madrid to secure a place in the play-offs – finishing in 23rd. And they weren’t done yet.

It was expected that last season’s finalists Inter Milan in a play-off knockout tie would be a hurdle to tall to jump, but Bødo followed up a 3-1 win in the Arctic circle with a famous 2-1 victory at the San Siro to progress to the last 16. Knutsen’s team continued their fairytale in the first leg of the round of 16, beating Sporting 3-0 in Bødo. They are now on the fringes of a Champions League quarter-final, but where would they rank among the least valuable squads to ever make that stage of the competition?

The least valuable squads to make Champions League quarter-finals

Transfermarkt started their market values back in 2004, and only one team has ever made the Champions League last eight since with a lower squad value than Bødo would have this term, should they progress against Sporting. Back in the 2011/12 season, Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia made it all the way to the quarter-finals after topping their group and beating Lyon in the round of 16. At the time, they had a squad market value of just €15 million; APOEL were eventually beaten 8-2 on aggregate by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

Should Bødo hold on to their 3-0 lead against their Portuguese counterparts in Lisbon, they would then rank second with a squad value of €80m. Even this figure was significantly lower before Monday’s Norwegian market value update. In third position were LaLiga outfit Málaga, who had a squad value of €103m when they made the quarter-finals in the 2012/13 season. Monaco take fourth with a €121m squad value in the 2014/15 campaign, whilst Schalke complete the top five with a €130m squad value in 2010/11.

The rest of the top 10 are completed by Marseille (€141m in 2011/12), Galatasaray (€143m in 2012/13), Shakthar Donetsk (€149m in 2010/11), and Benfica twice – €163m in 2011/12 and €171m in 2015/16. This list highlights the incredible story of Bødo/Glimt this season, and puts into perspective the achievement on offer if they can get over the line and make the last eight.