Premier League clubs paid an astonishing 260,664,118 in fees to agents and intermediaries during the year leading up to the 2018/19 season, including Tottenham Hotspur lavishing £11,141,255 despite not signing a single player.
The overall club’s figure is an increase of over 20% from last season which totalled 211,011,187. Liverpool managed to remain the league leaders, nearly doubling their total from last season.
Signings of Allison, Keita, Fabinho, and Shaqiri all contributed to the large sum, which was 17m more than the next closest club, Chelsea at 26.8m. Watford were the only other club who actually spent less this year than the last alongside Spurs.
Despite the numerous signings Fulham made upon re-entry to the Premier League and paying over 8m in agents fees, the side were relegated after their 4-1 loss to Watford.
Alongside them in relegation, Huddersfield doubled their spending on agents fees from 2.5m to 5m. Burnley and Cardiff were the most frugal clubs, splashing out just below 4m and 3m in fees respectively.
Agent fees have been a very thoroughly debated topic in football, especially since the dramatic increase in transfer fees. Most see the cash as leaving the game and not generating economic positivity between clubs and many have called for agents fees to be reduced.
The Premier League is hoping to bring tougher regulation when it comes to player’s agents, potentially capping their earning on deals or limiting them to a flat percentage of the transfer fee. The idea of players paying their own agents for their services is also being looked at seriously as a potential solution, though this would simply be shifting the responsibility.
Below is the list in order of highest spend:
LIVERPOOL: £43,795,863
CHELSEA: £26,850,552
MANCHESTER CITY: £24,122,753
MANCHESTER UNITED: £20,759,350
EVERTON: £19,116,370
WEST HAM: £14,414,845
LEICESTER CITY: £12,720,618
ARSENAL: £11,181,730
TOTTENHAM: £11,141,255
WATFORD: £10,894,179
BOURNEMOUTH: £10,295,433
NEWCASTLE: £8,868,027
FULHAM: £8,234,360
CRYSTAL PALACE: £6,976,425
BRIGHTON: £6,859,429
WOLVES: £6,479,714
SOUTHAMPTON: £6,151,107
HUDDERSFIELD: £5,023,807
BURNLEY: £3,975,928
CARDIFF: £2,802,375
