Breaking the bank: Premier League clubs continue post-Covid big-spending trend
Breaking the bank: Premier League clubs continue post-Covid big-spending trend
It has been another record-breaking summer transfer window for the Premier League, with the total expenditure crossing the three-billion-pounds mark following the deadline day move of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United to Liverpool.
The amount spent by the 20 clubs in the English top flight this summer has been significantly higher than the corresponding amount in the summer of 2024 — 1.96 billion pounds.
Unsurprisingly, Liverpool was the top spender in the Premier League, splashing out 415 million pounds on player arrivals this term. With a host of player departures, including Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, the Premier League champion’s net spend ends up at a respectable 228 million pounds.
Chelsea was the second-highest spender in the Premier League with 285 million pounds, but ended up with a positive net spend after player sales accounting for more than 288 million pounds.
Arsenal ranked third after spending 255 million pounds on players, but with only nine million coming in with sales, Mikel Arteta’s side aggregated the highest net spend for any team in the league.
Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest were the highest spenders among non-’top six’ sides. The Magpies had a negative net spend of 98 million pounds despite the sale of Isak. Nuno Espirito Santo’s team also aggregated the same net spend after splashing over 205 million pounds on player incomings.
This concept of the Premier League clubs out-spending the other top five leagues is not a new affair. According to the CIES Football Observatory, PL clubs have spent almost 20 billion in transfers between 2015 and 2024, twice as much as the second-highest spending league, the Serie A (9.42 billion).
Investment on incoming players reached an initial high in 2019, when over 8.6 billion pounds were spent worldwide. The figure dropped following the COVID-19-induced pandemic before peaking at 10.63 billion pounds in 2023.
The top three clubs for transfer expenditure since the pandemic are all from the Premier League. Chelsea leads the pack with a whopping 1.82 billion pounds spent on 168 arrivals with Manchester United and Man City following behind with just over 1 billion pounds.
Paris Saint-Germain is the non-Premier League club with the highest spending—1 billion pounds spent on the likes of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Randal Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos among others.
The spending might is not just vested in the successful Premier League sides. Sides on the periphery of European qualification, like Newcastle United and Aston Villa have also spent upwards of 600 million since the pandemic.
Nottingham Forest, which qualified for the Europa League just last season and West Ham United, which is still embroiled in a relegation scrap, have spent more money then German champion Bayern Munich during this time frame.
La Liga giants, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, who have been among the highest spenders in the 21st century, have been embroiled in financial difficulties since the turn of the decade and do not feature among the top 15 teams. Los Blancos are ranked 21st while Barca occupies the 31st, behind both Leeds United and Bournemouth.
With TV dealings soaring through the roof in the English top flight and with clubs qualifying for the business end of European competitions regularly, the Premier League dominance in transfer spending is set to continue. And, with the clubs going all in to close down the gap between teams, the need for an independent financial football regulator has never been more urgent.
Published on Sep 02, 2025
