How much did Premier League clubs spend last season?
The Premier League has long been known as one of the richest football leagues in the world, with millions of dollars being spent on transfers and salaries every season. A new study done by Deloitte has shed light on exactly how much money Premier League clubs spent last season and how that compares to other leagues around the world. Let’s take a look at how much each team spent, from highest to lowest.
No. 1 – Chelsea
1. Chelsea was the third-most expensive team of the 2015-2016 football game spending over £176 million.
2. For this price, they bought nine players and sold seven players as well as one loaned player who returned to his parent club.
3. Since that time, they also spent a little less than £15 million in games with eight players sold and two new players signed on their own accord.
4. For this level of competition, Chelsea won two domestic cups: FA Cup and EFL Cup, finished sixth in the league with 30 points from 18 games won, drawn 13 and lost three games in all competitions from the Champions League round of 16 onwards;
No. 2 – Manchester City
Last season, Manchester City spent £241 million. This was the third-highest in the league and £58 million more than their nearest competitor. They brought in a variety of players with different skill sets to help them win the title, including Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy, Danilo and Ederson Moraes. The large number of players they signed made it difficult for all of them to get playing time; however, Manchester City may have gotten away with this as they won the league. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see if they can bring all these new players into next year's squad to keep them fresh and ready for another demanding campaign.
Manchester City $242m $240m
No. 3 – Manchester United
Third on the list is Manchester United, a team that owns over six different sports teams. They spent well over $152 million dollars on payrolls and benefits for their football team in the 2012-2013 season. Many of the players that were part of this payroll are past or present national soccer players who have won numerous awards and medals in international competitions. United has also participated in a number of FIFA competitions such as FIFA World Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, many of which they have won trophies. The club is home to global sporting legends including David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Bryan Robson and manager Sir Alex Ferguson who was one of United's most successful managers to date with 13 Premier League titles during his tenure as coach.
No. 4 – Liverpool
Liverpool spent a whopping £121.8 million, most of it was made up of player acquisitions (£105.5 million). The club also shelled out £2.5 million on average for the salaries of their players for the season. Overall, Liverpool spent less than one-fifth on marketing and commercial activities than other top English Premier League Clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea, who both spent around £55 million each on this category. Liverpool generated more revenue from commercial activities (£71 million) than any other club in the league last year, which shows they really know how to market themselves successfully and they're able to cash in off its name value with deals like theirs with New Balance or its Red Bull partnership, valued at over £40 million each annually.
No. 5 – Arsenal
Arsenal signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for an £56 million club record fee on January 31, 2018. In 2016/17, Arsenal's highest expenditure was in the transfer market with £96 million spent.
Manchester City had the most expensive squad at £780 million and Chelsea is second (£737 million). In general, the top four clubs are together creating a golden era for English football by competing against each other both domestically and in Europe.
No. 6 – Tottenham Hotspur
Most of the lower half of the table finished in the black, with Burnley (a loss of £2.7m), Stoke (£1.6m) and West Brom (£0.8m) being the only ones to make a loss. However, four sides finished at least £20 million in debt: Leicester City (-£22.5m), Sunderland (-£28.8m), Swansea City (-£16.3m) and Watford (-£19.6). Watford were promoted in May 2016 but still finished higher than Newcastle United (-£4 million), who managed to get into the top 10 for only the second time since their Championship-winning 2009/10 campaign. This made them the richest club outside of the 'Big Six'.
No. 7 – West Ham United
Last season was one of the most expensive in history. Clubs spent £1.16bn, which is an increase of £226m from the previous year. At the bottom end, Sunderland had the lowest expenditure (£38m) while Manchester City and Manchester United were second and third (£150m and £149m respectively).
Chelsea, who won their fourth title this decade, spent £243 million or 23% more than in 2016/17 which has propelled them into first place for overall spending since 2003/04 with a total of £745 million to their name. Over at Arsenal (£129m), Liverpool (£123m) and Tottenham Hotspur (£112m), things were tight near the top.
No. 8 – Everton
Everton spent £81 million on players in the 2016-2017 season. This is £30 million more than the £51 million they spent in the 2015-2016 campaign, but it’s not as much as Everton were expecting to spend this year, as reported by one of their directors. Phil Bramley expects next year’s costs to be in the region of £100m and he also confirmed that Everton will be spending significantly more money than any other club outside of the top six.
As far as transfers go, this summer has seen the club sign seven new players for a total outlay of about £112 million which includes signings such as Jordan Pickford and Davy Klaassen for significant sums.
No. 9 – Leicester City
Leicester City were one of the biggest beneficiaries of their new title winning status, as they ranked 9th on the list with a turnover of £129 million. This is largely down to their FA Cup win which garnered them just over £1 million in prize money and broadcasting revenue. Combined with their Premier League campaign, which saw them finish in 14th place, Leicester has had a prosperous year on and off the pitch. If Leicester can replicate this level of performance next year, then you can expect to see them rise up this list even further.
However, despite being involved in UEFA's Champions League for the first time since 1993/94 it was an up-and-down campaign for Manchester United who finished second from bottom on the list with £515m turnover.
No. 10 - Watford FC
In terms of where Watford FC stand financially, the club has been increasing their revenue since they were bought by their current owner Giampaolo Pozzo in 2012. This allowed them to increase player salaries and wages, which helped the team greatly during this period. It is therefore not surprising that the 2015-2016 season saw the Hornets finish 10th with 56 points from 38 games. It may also come as a surprise to many fans that Watford FC spent more than all other promoted teams except for Newcastle United. In fact, Watford's €145 million in player acquisitions was only surpassed by Stoke City at €155 million and relegated Aston Villa with €171 million.
