Money makes the world go round and gets thrown around by Premier League clubs easily nowadays, as top talents are priced around the £100 million mark. The Todd Boehly era at Chelsea was kickstarted with a massive expenditure which twice broke the British transfer record with the acquisitions of Enzo Fernandez (£106.8 million) and Moises Caicedo (£115 million).

Chelsea are still spending top dollar on an abundance of talent, mostly youth, but they aren’t the only Premier League club looking to wheel and deal their way to success. Manchester United‘s controversial spending under the Glazers has placed INEOS in an untenable position to put cost-cutting measures in place at Old Trafford.

The Blues and the Red Devils inevitably feature in the top 20 list of the Premier League’s highest-spending clubs in history, a list by Kieran Maguire, an accountant and author of The Price of Football. The list of clubs makes for interesting reading, with several listed accounting for their current financial troubles.

10 West Ham United

Gross Spend: £1.229 billion

West Ham United came in 10th place and were financially kept afloat when David Sullivan and several others secured a takeover of the east London outfit in January 2010 after former owners Hansa Holding filed for bankruptcy in 2009. They have spent a pretty penny on top talent since taking over, including breaking the club’s record transfer to sign Sebastien Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt for £45 million in July 2019.

The Hammers have made several controversial signings during their spell in the Premier League, including the double swoop of duo Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano in August 2006. The superstar Argentine duo arrived from Brazilian outfit Corinthians, but the club had breached rules governing third-party ownership as a combination of investors and offshore companies owned both.

They overcame that ordeal and have been wiser in the market in recent years, particularly with signings such as Jarrod Bowen from Hull City (£20 million) and Mohammed Kudus from Ajax (£38 million). But there are still some transfers that have been met with frowns, not least the acquisition of injury-plagued Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund (£27 million) last summer.

9 Aston Villa

Gross Spend: £1.236 billion

Monchi (the man pictured above) has proven to be an excellent sporting director for Aston Villa, overseeing several eye-catching transfers while ensuring the Midlands outfit fetches top dollar for their prized possessions. The Villans broke their transfer record last summer by bringing Amadou Onana from Everton (£50 million) to Villa Park.

Other impressive pieces of business conducted by Villa include Ollie Watkins‘ arrival from Brentford (£33.3 million) and Emiliano Martinez‘s capture from Arsenal (£18 million), both in 2020. Unai Emery is reaping the rewards of clever squad building in recent years, guiding his side into UEFA Champions League football, which, of course, brings in a pretty penny.

Villa haven’t always got it right in the market amid Emiliano Buendia’s frustrating move in July 2021. The Argentine attacker arrived from Norwich City (£38 million) as the EFL Championship Player of the Year, but constant injury issues have disrupted his spell at Villa Park.

8 Newcastle United

Gross Spend: £1.240 billion

The Premier League was put on notice in October 2021 when Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund sealed a £305 million takeover of Newcastle United, making them the wealthiest club in world football. The Tyneside giants haven’t been able to splash the cash as many initially envisioned they would be due to Financial Fairplay rules and Profit and Sustainability regulations.

The Magpies have been wise spenders, finding Eddie Howe talents who are in their early development stages and can be transformed into world-class stars. Alexander Isak arrived at St James’ from Real Sociedad (£63 million) in August 2022, and he’s lived up to expectations as the club’s record signing, and he’s now priced at around £150 million.

Before the PIF arrived at Tyneside, the club was in murky financial waters under the controversial ownership of Mike Ashley, and exciting names such as Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali certainly weren’t on his radar. He did get his chequebook out during his 14 years in charge, bringing in the likes of fan favourite Callum Wilson from Bournemouth (£20 million) in 2020, but also disasters like an ageing Michael Owen from Real Madrid (£17 million) in the summer of 2005.

7 Everton

Gross Spend: £1.276 billion

Bill Kenwright (pictured above) served as Everton’s chairman from 2004 until he passed away in 2023, and there can be no argument that he did his utmost to make the Merseyside outfit successful. High-profile names arrived at Goodison Park while he called the shots, including Leighton Baines from Wigan Athletic (£6 million) in August 2007, Seamus Coleman (£60,000) from Sligo Rovers in 2009 and Dominic Calvert-Lewin from Sheffield United (£1.5 million) in September 2016.

Those were three pieces of excellent business conducted by the Toffees, but their smart recruitment fell by the wayside in recent years. Overspending became a regular occurrence, including such signings as Moise Kean from Juventus (£29 million) in August 2019, and such shoddy transfer activity didn’t end there.

This eventually caught up with Everton last season when they were hit with a two-point deduction for breaching PSR by £16.6 million over three years to 2022/23. The Goodison faithful were thrilled to see The Friedkin Group complete a takeover in December and the return of David Moyes a month later.

6 Tottenham Hotspur

Gross Spend: £1.792 billion

If you’re talking about the highs and lows of English football transfer business, you needn’t look for a more controversial character than Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy (pictured above). The English businessman is the longest-serving chairman in Premier League history, and while he’s made several outstanding sales, he’s also found his fair share of flops.

Levy used the money made from Gareth Bale’s then-world-record £85 million sale to Real Madrid to invest in what is known as ‘the Magnificent Seven’. But only Christian Eriksen (£11.5 million from Ajax) was a success at White Hart Line, and one of the North Londoners’ worst acquisitions was almost certainly Roberto Soldado from Valencia (£26 million), one of the Premier League’s worst strikers.

That said, the Lilywhites have a knack for unearthing gems and selling them for massive profit, such as Bale and his former teammate Luka Modric. The Croatian midfielder arrived from Dinamo Zagreb (£18.9 million) in 2008 and was sold to Madrid for £31.5 million, becoming a Ballon d’Or winner.

5 Liverpool

Gross Spend: £2.054 billion

Jurgen Klopp’s success at Liverpool is admirable, given the financial tycoons the German coach found himself against during his nine-year reign at Anfield. During his time in charge, there were several question marks over the backing he received from the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, fronted by American businessman John Henry (above).

That’s not to say that Klopp wasn’t handed funds to construct a squad that could fire the Reds to every major trophy on offer. Their former manager is believed to have spent around £850 million, including the divisive club-record capture of Darwin Nunez from Benfica (£85 million including add-ons) in June 2022, met with opposition from the Anfield higher-ups.

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Klopp and his recruitment team often worked their magic in the market, and Mohamed Salah, who arrived from AS Roma (£34.3 million) in the summer of 2017, is the perfect example of this. The Egyptian forward has become one of the best attackers in Premier League history, and that fee looks a bargain.

4 Arsenal

Gross Spend: £2.096 billion

There was a period in Arsenal‘s recent history when the Emirates faithful felt the club weren’t spending enough. But they have since rivalled the Premier League’s biggest spenders on top talent, such as Declan Rice, who arrived from West Ham United in a club-record £105 million deal two summers ago.

Mikel Arteta has been backed with several expensive additions, but such spending was paused at the end of Arsene Wenger‘s iconic reign because of financial constraints relating to the construction of the Emirates Stadium. Wenger’s most expensive signing was Mesut Ozil, who arrived from Real Madrid (£42.5 million) on a memorable deadline day in 2013.

Thierry Henry is undoubtedly the Gunners’ best piece of business, costing the North Londoners £11 million in August 1999 and perhaps becoming the Premier League’s greatest-ever player. There have been some deals that the club would rather you forget, including Nicolas Pepe’s staggering £72 million arrival in 2019, a significant stain on their accounting books.

3 Manchester United

Gross Spend: £2.696 billion

The Glazers are public enemy number one at Manchester United because of their ownership of the Old Trafford giants, which has plunged the club into over £500 million in debt. That’s disregarding the plethora of footballers who arrived from more of a commercial perspective than because of their abilities or what they could bring to the club on the pitch.

United have spent huge sums on some of the Premier League’s biggest flops, such as Antony (£85 million) from Ajax in the summer of 2022. Their other poor pieces of business include Jadon Sancho (£73 million) and Alexis Sanchez (£14 million-per-year wages) as the Glazers hid behind former banker Ed Woodward, and it’s no wonder the new co-owners INEOS are putting several cost-cutting measures in place.

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It’s not all been doom and gloom for the Red Devils during the Premier League period of spending, as they have signed some of the very best to grace the game. Wayne Rooney arrived from Everton (£30 million), Cristiano Ronaldo joined from Sporting CP (£12 million) and Eric Cantona was signed from Leeds United (£1.2 million) in the pre-Glazer era, and they didn’t turn out half bad.

2 Manchester City

Gross Spend: £2.941 billion

This list would make for a very different reading if Sheikh Mansour (above) didn’t complete a takeover of Manchester City in 2008 in one of the most significant moments in Premier League history. It was the turning of the tide in English football as the cash kept rolling at the Etihad, and it’s fair to say that the Cityzens’ success is largely down to the financial backing put in place by the vice president of the United Arab Emirates.

Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock, you will have heard all about City’s ‘115 charges’ for allegedly breaching financial rules over nine years. Putting that hearing aside, Pep Guardiola‘s right-hand man, Txiki Begiristain, has made some stellar signings as the club’s sporting director.

One of those was Rodri, who joined City from Atletico Madrid (£62.8 million) in the summer of 2019 and has gone on to become a Ballon d’Or winner. The capture of Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg (£54.5 million) in August 2015 was impressive, but there have been several blunders, such as Jack Grealish‘s £100 million arrival from Aston Villa, the third most expensive Premier League signing in history.

The Sky Blues’ spending is continuing despite the ongoing case over allegations of false accounting, and they have dropped £178 million on Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in the winter transfer window, which is 44% of the Premier League’s spending collectively.

1 Chelsea

Gross Spend: £3.796 billion

Given the chaotic and never-ending transfer business conducted in the Todd Boehly era at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will have likely dipped into the market and spent as of writing. The Blues have spent over £1 billion since Boehly and Behdad Eghbali (pictured above) took over from Roman Abramovich, who’d already gained a reputation for splashing the cash.

46 players have arrived in West London since May 2022, when the takeover took place, and that includes breaking the British transfer record twice to sign Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. There is an obvious strategy to sign young talent and quickly assess a potential long-term future before making a profit if they aren’t up to par, but this model has resulted in some fine captures.

Cole Palmer has been the standout signing of the Boehly era, arriving from Manchester City (£40 million) in September 2023 and becoming one of English football’s most exciting talents. However, several recent acquisitions make for grim reading, such as Mykhailo Mudryk’s £89 million capture in January 2023, arguably one of the worst transfers in English top-flight history.

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All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt – correct as of 04/02/2025.