Since great players are now valued at approximately £100 million, Premier League clubs have no trouble snatching up the cash that makes the world go round. The enormous spending that began the Todd Boehly era at Chelsea included the acquisition of Moises Caicedo (£115 million) and Enzo Fernandez (£106.8 million), which twice shattered the British transfer record.
Chelsea continues to invest heavily on a wealth of talent, primarily young players, but they are not the only Premier League team trying to wheel and deal their way to victory. Because of Manchester United’s contentious spending under the Glazers, INEOS is in a precarious position to implement cost-cutting measures at Old Trafford.
According to Kieran Maguire, an accountant and author of The Price of Football, the Blues and the Red Devils are unavoidably included in the top 20 list of the Premier League’s most expensive clubs ever. Several of the groups on the list explain their present financial difficulties, making for an interesting read.
Premier League Top 20 Transfer Spending Last Ten Seasons pic.twitter.com/BIvGEWmSWD
— Kieran Maguire (@KieranMaguire) February 4, 2025
All-Time Premier League Transfer Spend
Rank
Club
Total Spending (£)
1.
Chelsea
£3.796 billion
2.
City of Manchester
£2.941 billion
3.
United Manchester
£2.696 billion
4.
The Arsenal
£2.096 billion
5.
Liverpool
£2.054 billion
6.
Tottenham Hotspur
£1.792 billion
7.
Everton
£1.276 billion
8.
Newcastle United
£1.240 billion
9.
Villa Aston
£1.236 billion
10.
United West Ham
£1.229 billion
11.
Southampton
£832 million
12.
City of Leicester
776 million pounds
13.
Wanderers of Wolverhampton
718 million pounds
14.
Albion, Brighton & Hove
£675 million
15.
Fulham
£606 million
16.
The Bournemouth
£605 million
17.
The Crystal Palace
£576 million
18.
Leeds United
£523 million
19.
Sunderland
£431 million
20.
Forest of Nottingham
£396 million
10West Ham United
Gross Spend: £1.229 billion
After former owners Hansa Holding declared bankruptcy in 2009, David Sullivan and a number of others were able to acquire West Ham United in January 2010, keeping the team financially stable and allowing them to finish in tenth place. Since taking over, they have spent a significant amount of money on elite players, including breaking the club’s record in July 2019 when they paid £45 million to sign Sebastien Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt.
During their time in the Premier League, the Hammers have made a number of contentious acquisitions, such as the August 2006 double swoop of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano. Although the club had violated third-party ownership regulations by bringing in the superstar Argentine duo from Brazilian team Corinthians, both were owned by a mix of offshore companies and investors.
After overcoming that experience, they have become more astute in recent years, especially with acquisitions like Mohammed Kudus from Ajax (£38 million) and Jarrod Bowen from Hull City (£20 million). However, some transfers continue to draw criticism, most notably the £27 million purchase of injury-plagued Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund last summer.
9Aston Villa
Gross Spend: £1.236 billion
For Aston Villa, Monchi (the man in the above photo) has been a superb sports director, managing a number of striking acquisitions while making sure the Midlands team receives top price for their valuable assets. When the Villans acquired Amadou Onana from Everton for £50 million last summer, they broke their transfer record.
Other noteworthy transactions that Villa has carried out include the 2020 acquisition of Emiliano Martinez from Arsenal (£18 million) and the arrival of Ollie Watkins from Brentford (£33.3 million). By leading his team into the UEFA Champions League, which naturally brings in a sizable sum of money, Unai Emery is enjoying the fruits of his astute squad building in previous years.
In the market, Villa hasn’t always been successful since Emiliano Buendia’s exasperating move in July 2021. The EFL Championship Player of the Year, the Argentine forward came to Villa Park from Norwich City for £38 million, but his tenure has been marred by persistent physical problems.
8Newcastle United
Gross Spend: £1.240 billion
When Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund completed a £305 million buy of Newcastle United in October 2021, they became the wealthiest football club in the world and put the Premier League on notice. Regulations pertaining to Financial Fairplay and Profit and Sustainability have prevented the Tyneside titans from spending as much money as many had originally anticipated.
By identifying Eddie Howe talents in their early phases of development, the Magpies have been judicious with their spending and have the potential to become world-class players. Arriving at St James’ from Real Sociedad (£63 million) in August 2022, Alexander Isak has lived up to expectations as the club’s most expensive acquisition, currently valued at almost £150 million.
Mike Ashley was the club’s controversial owner prior to the PIF’s arrival in Tyneside, and he was undoubtedly unaware of attractive players like Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali. During his 14 years in command, he did pull out his chequebook, bringing in players like Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson (£20 million) in 2020 and losing players like Real Madrid’s ageing Michael Owen (£17 million) in the summer of 2005.
7Everton
Gross Spend: £1.276 billion
As Everton’s chairman from 2004 until his death in 2023, Bill Kenwright (shown above) undoubtedly did everything in his power to ensure the Merseyside team’s prosperity. As he called the shots, well-known players arrived at Goodison Park, notably Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Sheffield United (£1.5 million) in September 2016, Seamus Coleman of Sligo Rovers (£60,000) in 2009, and Leighton Baines of Wigan Athletic (£6 million) in August 2007.
The Toffees did three outstanding things, but in recent years, their astute hiring practices have been neglected. Spending excessively became commonplace, as evidenced by the August 2019 signing of Moise Kean from Juventus (£29 million), and the poor transfer activity continued.
Everton finally paid for this last season when they were docked two points for violating PSR by £16.6 million during the three years leading up to 2022–2023. The Friedkin Group’s acquisition in December and David Moyes’ return a month later delighted the Goodison supporters.
6Tottenham Hotspur
Gross Spend: £1.792 billion
Daniel Levy, the chairman of Tottenham Hotspur (shown above), is one of the most controversial figures when discussing the highs and lows of English football transfer industry. The Premier League’s longest-serving chairman, an English businessman, has seen his share of failures in addition to some exceptional sales.
Using the proceeds from the then-record-breaking £85 million transfer of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, Levy invested in ‘the Magnificent Seven’. However, only Christian Eriksen (£11.5 million from Ajax) was successful at White Hart Line, and Roberto Soldado (£26 million) from Valencia—one of the poorest strikers in the Premier League—was probably one of the North Londoners’ worst buys.
However, the Lilywhites, like Bale and his former teammate Luka Modric, have a talent for finding jewels and selling them for enormous profits. The Croatian midfielder, who won the Ballon d’Or, joined from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008 for £18.9 million and was sold to Real Madrid for £31.5 million.
5Liverpool
Gross Spend: £2.054 billion
Given the financial tycoons the German coach faced throughout his nine-year tenure at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp’s performance at Liverpool is impressive. The support he had from the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, led by American businessman John Henry (above), was questioned on multiple occasions during his tenure as manager.
That’s not to suggest Klopp didn’t receive funding to assemble a team capable of winning every major prize available to the Reds. Anfield’s higher-ups objected to their previous manager’s alleged £850 million expenditures, which included the contentious club record acquisition of Darwin Nunez from Benfica in June 2022 (£85 million plus add-ons).
A prime illustration of Klopp and his recruitment team’s prowess in the market is Mohamed Salah, who joined from AS Roma in the summer of 2017 for £34.3 million. That cost seems like a steal, and the Egyptian forward has emerged as one of the Premier League’s greatest attackers.
4Arsenal
Gross Spend: £2.096 billion
At one point in Arsenal’s recent history, the Emirates supporters believed the team wasn’t spending enough money. However, they have subsequently caught up to the Premier League’s greatest spenders on elite players, such Declan Rice, who joined from West Ham United two summers ago in a club-record £105 million move.
Mikel Arteta has supported him with a number of costly recruits, but because to budgetary limitations associated with the Emirates Stadium’s development, such spending was put on hold near the end of Arsene Wenger’s legendary reign. Mesut Ozil, who cost £42.5 million to acquire from Real Madrid on a historic deadline day in 2013, was Wenger’s most costly acquisition.
Thierry Henry, who cost the North Londoners £11 million in August 1999 and may go down as the greatest player in Premier League history, is without a doubt the Gunners’ finest acquisition. The club would prefer that you forget some of its past transactions, such as the shocking £72 million arrival of Nicolas Pepe in 2019, which left a serious mark on their books.
3Manchester United
Gross Spend: £2.696 billion
Due to their ownership of the Old Trafford giants, which has left the club in debt by more than £500 million, the Glazers are Manchester United’s biggest public opponent. That’s ignoring the large number of football players who joined the team more for business purposes than for their skills or what they could provide on the pitch.
Some of the Premier League’s worst failures, like Antony (£85 million) from Ajax in the summer of 2022, have cost United a fortune. As the Glazers hid behind former banker Ed Woodward, their other bad ventures include Alexis Sanchez (£14 million annually) and Jadon Sancho (£73 million), so it’s no surprise that the new co-owners, INEOS, are implementing a number of cost-cutting measures.
The Red Devils have bought some of the best players to grace the game, so it hasn’t all been bad news during the Premier League spending spree. Before Glazer, Wayne Rooney came from Everton (£30 million), Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting CP (£12 million), and Eric Cantona from Leeds United (£1.2 million), and they all fared rather well.
2Manchester City
Gross Spend: £2.941 billion
If Sheikh Mansour (above) hadn’t completed an acquisition of Manchester City in 2008, one of the most important events in Premier League history, this list would read very differently. The success of the Cityzens may be attributed in large part to the financial support provided by the vice president of the United Arab Emirates, and it was the turning point in English football as the money continued to flow at the Etihad.
You’ve probably heard about City’s ‘115 charges’ for allegedly breaking financial regulations over nine years, unless you’ve been living under a rock. Despite that hearing, Txiki Begiristain, Pep Guardiola’s right-hand guy, has been a fantastic addition to the team as sporting director.
Among them was Rodri, who won the Ballon d’Or after joining City from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019 for £62.8 million. Although it was amazing to buy Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg for £54.5 million in August 2015, there have been a number of mistakes, including the £100 million transfer of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa, the third-most expensive Premier League player ever.
The Sky Blues have spent £178 million on Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Vitor Reis during the winter transfer window, which accounts for 44% of the Premier League’s total spending. This spending is continuing despite the ongoing case about charges of dishonest accounting.
1Chelsea
Gross Spend: £3.796 billion
Chelsea will have probably delved into the market and spent as of this writing, considering the hectic and never-ending transfer business that took place at Stamford Bridge during the Todd Boehly period. Since Boehly and Behdad Eghbali (shown above) succeeded Roman Abramovich, who had already established a reputation for squandering money, the Blues have spent more than £1 billion.
Since the takeover in May 2022, 46 players have come in West London, including two transfers that broke the British transfer record, the signing of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez. Signing young talent and promptly evaluating their potential long-term future before turning a profit if they aren’t up to par is a clear approach, but this methodology has produced some excellent acquisitions.
The most notable acquisition of the Boehly period has been Cole Palmer, who joined from Manchester City in September 2023 for £40 million and has emerged as one of the most promising players in English football. But other recent additions are unsettling, like the £89 million signing of Mykhailo Mudryk in January 2023, who is undoubtedly one of the worst deals in English Premier League history.
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