Writer, analyst, podcaster, Spurs fan. Three out of four is not bad. If there is a data angle, I will find it.
With the transfer window now firmly locked tight until January, it allows football fans the chance to take a deep breath after another exciting summer of transfer spend. While not only was it exciting but it was full of largesse.
Because with the total spend that has been accumulated by the current 20 clubs in the Premier League, their collective expenditure has sent shockwaves across the rest of Europe’s major league competitions.
If you were to combine the total spend of La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A, it will still be nowhere near the £1.958bn that was forked out across England’s top flight this summer and that must be of a concern to the overall football ecosystem.
However, the spend of transfer fees is only one part of the equation and with money usually coming back in the opposite direction, it perhaps net spend which should be the truer measure of a club’s acumen in the market.
While in this instance, you can often see a club go on a summer splurge – sometimes out of necessity and sometimes because the cash is there to splash and therefore, you should not look at one season in isolation.
Which is why for our latest data-driven deep dive, we are going to analyse the net spend since the start of the 2013/14 season for each of the 92 clubs that are operating within England’s top four divisions.
Will we see a balancing of the books or a financial black hole for some of the biggest teams in the land?
START AT THE TOP
| Club | Expenditure | Income | Balance | Current League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | £1,792,112,000 | £507,932,400 | -£1,284,179,600 | Premier League |
| Manchester City | £1,708,646,000 | £842,140,000 | -£866,506,000 | Premier League |
| Arsenal FC | £1,271,834,400 | £445,507,600 | -£826,326,800 | Premier League |
| Chelsea FC | £2,090,706,000 | £1,375,290,000 | -£715,416,000 | Premier League |
| Tottenham Hotspur | £1,215,280,000 | £675,744,000 | -£539,536,000 | Premier League |
| West Ham United | £945,247,600 | £415,231,000 | -£530,016,600 | Premier League |
| Newcastle United | £824,120,000 | £342,432,000 | -£481,688,000 | Premier League |
| Liverpool FC | £1,122,390,000 | £726,612,000 | -£395,778,000 | Premier League |
| Aston Villa | £829,128,000 | £445,593,000 | -£383,535,000 | Premier League |
| Everton FC | £816,728,000 | £565,424,000 | -£251,304,000 | Premier League |
If you are the Manchester United accountant, you may want to look away now. Because across the past 11 full seasons and the current edition of the Premier League, the Old Trafford outfit have spent more than £1.7bn in transfer fees.
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While although this figure has nearly been beaten by local rivals Manchester City and certainly beaten by Chelsea, their two rivals seem to be better at recouping costs and in doing so, they have managed to minimise their overall financial hit.
Unfortunately, that same economic nous seems to have gone missing at the Theatre of Dreams and after spending £1.792bn since the start of the 2013 season, they have only clawed back £507m in transfer fees.
This means their net spend over this current 11 and a half- ear period, is an eye-watering £1.284bn loss. A period that has delivered exactly zero Premier League or Champions League titles in that time and although the Glazer’s did put their hand in their pocket, they are not spending their money wisely and with Sir Jim Ratcliffe now at the helm in terms of footballing operations, the INEOS owner will now be tasked with trying to claw some of that deficit back.
Which is why Manchester City’s own transfer strategy will be the envy of their nearest rivals and although they themselves have recorded an £866m loss during the same period, it has delivered a multitude of Premier League titles and finally the holy grail of the Champions League.
Something that suggests that the price of winning is certainly an expensive one. However, if the domestic and European trophies keep arriving at the Etihad, then their Abu Dhabi-based owners will keep signing off the cheques.
Third in the list of net losers is Arsenal and with the them averaging nearly £110m transfer spend per season, criticism of the Kroenke family is perhaps a little unfair – especially as they have a deficit of £826m to deal with.
However, as things stand, the Gunners are still yet to climb the Premier League summit under manager Michael Arteta and one wonders if a little extra expenditure along the way may have helped their cause.
With Chelsea spending the most of all the 92 clubs, their £2bn spend was topped up by new owner Todd Boehly and with the American spending approximately £1bn of that since his arrival, the Stamford Bridge outfit have a net deficit of £715m.
In terms of the big six clubs, Tottenham and Liverpool will take some pride in being the most balanced. However, this is a rather tenuous accolade and with losses of £539m and £395m respectively, their respective owners are not shy to spend money either.
Something that can also be said for Liverpool’s Merseyside neighbours Everton but spending it wisely is a completely different issue. The Toffees have protracted ownership issues and they also have a spending deficit of £251m.
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Admittedly he has not been responsible for all of Everton’s £774m expenditure since 2013, but a decent chunk has been approved by him and with only £495m coming back to the Goodison Park bank account, the Toffees find themselves tenth in the list of net losers.
Although the Mike Ashley era has long since ended on Tyneside, the former owner did approve a considerable amount of transfer spend and with £766m going out since 2013, a paltry £278m was recouped by comparison.
They like Aston Villa have spent at least one season in the Championship during this period – although Villa themselves were there for three and the West Midlands outfit have a loss of £357m in their long-term ledger.
While West Ham should certainly not be overlooked either and after winning last season’s Europa Conference League, they have earned a seventh-place finish in this particular table. One that comes courtesy of a £446m net loss the past 10 and a half years.
THE SECOND TIER
| Club | Expenditure | Income | Balance | Current League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stoke City | £229,559,600 | £112,076,600 | -£117,483,000 | Championship |
| West Bromwich Albion | £241,268,000 | £144,897,600 | -£96,370,400 | Championship |
| Sheffield United | £201,449,600 | £111,711,000 | -£89,738,600 | Championship |
| Burnley FC | £364,123,600 | £288,226,400 | -£75,897,200 | Championship |
| Cardiff City | £137,318,000 | £81,930,600 | -£55,387,400 | Championship |
| Middlesbrough FC | £202,642,200 | £165,764,000 | -£36,878,200 | Championship |
| Sheffield Wednesday | £46,679,800 | £10,309,000 | -£36,370,800 | Championship |
| Sunderland AFC | £171,924,000 | £135,886,000 | -£36,038,000 | Championship |
| Leeds United | £366,707,800 | £334,589,800 | -£32,118,000 | Championship |
| Derby County | £88,317,600 | £63,766,800 | -£24,550,800 | Championship |
| Millwall FC | £19,606,400 | £7,135,000 | -£12,471,400 | Championship |
| Luton Town | £37,152,000 | £30,106,000 | -£7,046,000 | Championship |
| Plymouth Argyle | £3,971,600 | £3,540,000 | -£431,600 | Championship |
In the second tier the story is not all that much better when it comes to the balancing of books and although promotion does give the Championship clubs a momentous reason to celebrate, it also comes at a huge cost.
Stoke can also be considered as a primary example, their tenure in the Premier League is almost a distant memory now, as the cold wet nights at the Bet365 Stadium are now a thing of the past. However, their net loss is still worthy a top flight invite.
With a net loss of £117m, Stoke City found themselves not only top in the Championship table but also with an 18th place finish overall when it comes to net loss. With £229m spent during this time, only £112m was recouped.
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That figure of £117m was £21m less than West Brom’s own overall loss and with a negative balance of £96m, the side that is currently marshalled by Carlos Corberan find themselves lying second in the standings when it comes to Championship losses.
While out of the current 24 teams that operate within the Championship, 13 of them are running at a net loss and there is a commonality that links 11 of those 13 in the standings. That being, they have all sampled a portion of Premier League football since the inception of the league in 1992.
The only two that are still running at a loss and have not been in the Premier League are the pair of Millwall and Plymouth. The South London outfit have a deficit of £12.4m, Wayne Rooney's Pilgrims nearly at financial parity with a loss of £431,600.
| Club | Expenditure | Income | Balance | Current League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth FC | £3,576,000 | £8,268,000 | £4,692,000 | Championship |
| Coventry City | £42,493,800 | £47,248,200 | £4,754,400 | Championship |
| Preston North End | £18,645,600 | £23,440,000 | £4,794,400 | Championship |
| Watford FC | £338,476,800 | £343,327,800 | £4,851,000 | Championship |
| Queens Park Rangers | £92,382,800 | £97,660,600 | £5,277,800 | Championship |
| Hull City | £183,539,000 | £191,669,200 | £8,130,200 | Championship |
| Oxford United | £2,789,800 | £17,540,000 | £14,750,200 | Championship |
| Norwich City | £245,571,200 | £270,921,000 | £25,349,800 | Championship |
| Bristol City | £81,495,600 | £117,099,000 | £35,603,400 | Championship |
| Blackburn Rovers | £29,815,600 | £75,012,000 | £45,196,400 | Championship |
| Swansea City | £226,413,200 | £318,567,200 | £92,154,000 | Championship |
However, it is not all doom and gloom when looking at the Championship and although Swansea are struggling towards the foot of the current table, they are the top of the class when it comes to overall net spend.
The Liberty Stadium outfit have made a profit of £93m in the past 11 and a half seasons – nearly £47m more than the team that is the second in the standings. A position that is afforded to Blackburn after they avoided relegation to League One at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Even though the books have been balanced at Ewood Park, one wonders if this has been their undoing. There has been a sense of death by a thousand cuts in Lancashire and had their owners decided to splash the cash, they may still be operating in the Premier League.
DROPPING DOWN A LEVEL
| Club | Expenditure | Income | Balance | Current League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huddersfield Town | £119,098,200 | £107,436,000 | -£11,662,200 | League One |
| Birmingham City | £81,399,800 | £71,542,000 | -£9,857,800 | League One |
The next section does not necessarily make for good reading if you are a Huddersfield or Birmingham supporter - with both these sides having prevoius dalliances in the Premier League but now operating in League One.
A cautionary tale of what happens to a club that tries to get back into the Premier League and rolls the dice in order to get it. Huddersfield never did return after their top flight relegation in 2019, they are now paying the price for it in League One and with a net spend deficit of £11.6m.
While the same can be said for Birmingham, they may have spent big under their new American owners this summer, but now the players will have to show their worth and restore the blue half of the City to the second tier at the first time of asking. After signing Jay Stansfield for nearly £10m from Fulham, it means their current net deficit stands at £9.85m.
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| Club | Expenditure | Income | Balance | Current League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wigan Athletic | £37,694,000 | £70,929,400 | £33,235,400 | League One |
| Peterborough United | £13,424,400 | £37,589,000 | £24,164,600 | League One |
| Barnsley FC | £20,564,200 | £40,826,800 | £20,262,600 | League One |
| Charlton Athletic | £12,013,200 | £30,983,600 | £18,970,400 | League One |
| Exeter City | £97,000 | £15,845,000 | £15,748,000 | League One |
| Bolton Wanderers | £3,265,600 | £13,931,000 | £10,665,400 | League One |
| Blackpool FC | £3,221,000 | £12,802,000 | £9,581,000 | League One |
| Rotherham United | £4,206,000 | £9,388,800 | £5,182,800 | League One |
| Shrewsbury Town | £119,000 | £2,466,000 | £2,347,000 | League One |
| Stevenage FC | £127,120 | £2,440,600 | £2,313,480 | League One |
From this point onwards, we see how just clubs do survive and that is buy selling their best players up the food chain. Although Wigan are currently in League One, they have managed to record a positive balance of £33.2m since 2013.
While Peterborough are no slouches when it comes to financial housekeeping and with a positive balance of £24.1m to shout about, they have managed to pip Barnsley to third by just £900k.
Barnsley missed out on promotion to the Championship at the back end of the 2022/23 season after playoff despair but there is no drama when it comes to their finances. A steady model of selling players to the first and second tiers has seen the Oakwell outfit earn a net spend profit of £20.2m.
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THE FINAL LEVEL
| Club | Expenditure | Income | Balance | Current League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton Keynes Dons | £2,473,000 | £15,874,000 | £13,401,000 | League Two |
| Swindon Town | £1,760,000 | £7,898,000 | £6,138,000 | League Two |
| Chesterfield FC | £113,000 | £4,882,000 | £4,769,000 | League Two |
| Tranmere Rovers | £0 | £0 | £0 | League Two |
| Barrow AFC | £0 | £0 | £0 | League Two |
| Bromley FC | £0 | £0 | £0 | League Two |
| Harrogate Town | £0 | £0 | £0 | League Two |
Now we can look at League Two and in terms of postive net spends, it is MK Dons who currently top the list with a positive net spend of £13.4m and although they have this reason to celebrate, the club will still be licking its wounds after losing to Crawley in last season's League Two play-off semi finals. The Dons beat Swindon into second and Chesterfield into third with their net spends of £6.1m and £4.7m and although there are positive figures to triumph in the division, spare a thought for those club who have not spent a penny since 2013.
Tranmere Rovers, Bromley, Barrow AFC and Harrogate Town have managed to find the perfect equilibrium when it comes to transfer spend – even if it is not necessarily a popular decision with their supporters.
THE OVERALL WINNERS
| Club | Expenditure | Income | Balance | Current League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swansea City | £226,413,200 | £318,567,200 | £92,154,000 | Championship |
| Blackburn Rovers | £29,815,600 | £75,012,000 | £45,196,400 | Championship |
| Bristol City | £81,495,600 | £117,099,000 | £35,603,400 | Championship |
| Wigan Athletic | £37,694,000 | £70,929,400 | £33,235,400 | League One |
| Norwich City | £245,571,200 | £270,921,000 | £25,349,800 | Championship |
| Peterborough United | £13,424,400 | £37,589,000 | £24,164,600 | League One |
| Barnsley FC | £20,564,200 | £40,826,800 | £20,262,600 | League One |
| Charlton Athletic | £12,013,200 | £30,983,600 | £18,970,400 | League One |
| Exeter City | £97,000 | £15,845,000 | £15,748,000 | League One |
| Oxford United | £2,789,800 | £17,540,000 | £14,750,200 | Championship |
When looking at each of the 92 clubs in our data sample, it is Swansea who win the net spend league title. With their positive balance of £93m they have beaten a trio of current Championship counterparts to the top.
While perhaps the most interesting point is that no Premier League team finds themselves in the top 10 when it comes to net spend winners. All of the 20 teams are in the red and the quest to stay in the top tier is certainly an expensive one.
Instead, it is Championship teams that are the flagbearers when it comes to net spend profits. However, they have the difficult task of trying to balance the books while also attempting to earn promotion as soon as possible.
Which brings an end to our hefty transfer analysis and next time you bemoan the fortunes of your club’s owners and how much they may or may not be spending, remember that net spend is arguably the most important factor of all.
Methodology
Data courtesy of Transfermarkt – correct and updated 18th September 2024
Meet the Expert - Dan Tracey
The data research and word were all put together by our expert data scientist and sports journalist and podcaster Dan Tracey; a multi-talented writer, data analyst and podcaster whose six-year career in the sports data sphere has seen incredible successes. From helping UEFA create their annual technical reports to writing articles for Sports Betting Websites including sites like TheLinesUS and Goal - there's no shortage of areas where his expertise shines through! In addition he can be heard on podcasts lending an insightful voice as well as providing weekly betting angles - all culminating with him teaming up OLBG.com in the present day. Simply put: wherever you find angled data being crunched? You'll also likely find Dan not far behind!
