The millions thrown around by the Premier League big boys to sign star players is enough to make your eyes water.
A staggering £1billion has been spent by clubs over the past 12 months – £870million of that during the summer transfer window alone.
While the rest of us mere mortals are living like paupers, astronomical sums are being forked out by clubs to land big name players…and football agents have never had it so good.
But new figures show which Premier League clubs are handing over the most millions to agents to make these mega deals happen, and it’s surprising who comes out on top.
Liverpool lead the way in the highest spend on agent fees over the last 12 months from October 1, 2014, to September 30 of this year.
Former Reds boss Brendan Rodgers and his transfer committee forked out more than even champions Chelsea and big-spending Man City at £14.3m.
It could be down to deals like James Milner’s free transfer from City and big-money signings Christian Benteke and Firmino, while clubs have been known to stagger agent payments, meaning Mario Balotelli’s annus horribilis could also feature in the total.
This is unlikely to go down too well with fans after the Merseyside club missed out the big money Champions League places under Rodgers last season.
Manchester United’s bill for agent payments wasn’t far behind with £13.8m, after signing teenager Anthony Martial for £36m as part of an expensive summer, while near neighbours Man City follow closely on £12.4m
Arsenal and Chelsea were level-pegging in the table on £11.9m. Although it appears Chelsea have certainly not been too frugal on the fees in the past…
Since October 2010, Chelsea has paid £55.4 million in agents' fees. Jorge Mendes says thanks.
— Jake Cohen (@JakeFCohen) November 30, 2015
But right now you could argue it’s Leicester getting the most value for money out of the £4m they shelled out on agent fees with the likes of Robert Huth, N’Golo Kante and Shinji Okazaki joining the club over the summer.
Here is the full list of the total spend which is just shy of £13om.
Payments by @premierleague clubs to agents Oct 1 2014 to Sep 30 2015… pic.twitter.com/jVixq1njki
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) November 30, 2015
