Premier League BIG SIX RANKED Based On Net Transfer Spend Over The Last 10 Years

Content Editor

3 years ago

Categories: Galleries, Manchester United News, Transfer News

Tags: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Spurs

Transfer spending in the Premier League has reached astronomical proportions in recent years so today, we will be assessing the net transfer spend of the six largest teams.

Whether net spend is really important is a debate for another day, but it can demonstrate how smart a club has been in the transfer market.

We have based this list on the Transfermarkt website’s record of purchases and sales for the six teams in question over the past decade.

Press the next page as we rank the Premier League’s ‘big six’ based on their net spend (from most extravagant to frugal).

6) Manchester City – Net Spend: £-560.66m

The Citizens have spent roughly £845m on players over the last decade and they have recouped only around £285m of that. In some ways, it is understandable, as they had a lot of catching up to do compared to their rivals.

However, there is no doubt that the very heavy investment from Sheikh Mansour has been the keen reason why City have been so successful in English football over recent seasons.

5) Manchester United – Net Spend: £-497.88m

The Red Devils have only won one league title since 2011 and that is a damning indictment of both their player recruitment and the decisions made on managerial appointments over that time.

Major mistakes have been made in the transfer market, and despite having spent close to £700m, they have had very little return on their investment.

4) Arsenal – Net Spend: £-308.15m

There have been a number of factors as to why the Gunners have struggled to recapture past glories on the pitch in the last ten years. Selling their best players has certainly hampered them, but money needed to be diverted to paying off the build costs of their stadium.

However, in recent seasons, poor management both on and off the pitch has been central to their ongoing struggles. Numerous changes at board room level, and differing approaches to player recruitment led to bad decisions being made in the transfer market. Consequently, they are now trying to rebuild after finishing midtable.

3) Chelsea – Net Spend: £-262.34m

While owner Roman Abramovich was pretty carefree with his spending after first arriving at Stamford Bridge, the Blues have become more financially stable over the past decade.

Chelsea invest heavily in young players and make profits on those who don’t make the grade. It means their net transfer spend is quite low, despite some sizeable purchases in recent years. That may change if they splash out on Erling Haaland this summer though.

2) Tottenham – Net Spend: £-204.88m

Unsurprisingly, Spurs are near the top of the list with much of that down to the tough negotiating positions taken by chairman Daniel Levy. He is renowned for selling players for top dollar whilst bringing in promising young stars for low fees.

That approach has proven far less successful over the last couple of seasons and the need to pay off the costs of their new stadium may force Tottenham into making some tough choices.

1) Liverpool – Net Spend: £-119.73m

Fenway Sports Group took over at the end of 2010 so the Reds’ position at the top of this list is pretty much down to their business strategy. While the club have spent £476m on signings, three-quarters of that has been recouped in player sales.

The high-profile sales of players such as Philippe Coutinho, Luis Suarez and Fernando Torres (combined with smart player recruitment) have allowed Liverpool to punch well above their weight.