Man Utd has highest net spend of any club during last decade

Manchester United has recorded the highest net spend of any club in the world over the last decade. According to a new study by CIES Football Observatory, the Red Devils have topped the soccer club charts by posting a net spend of $1.48 billion during this timeframe. Net spend is essentially total money spent on transfers, minus funds received from player sales.

United’s move to the top of the financial charts was fueled by some interesting transfers. Paul Pogba, Antony, Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho, and Romelu Lukaku were the five most expensive incomings for the club between 2014 and 2023. The combined cost of this quintet was approximately $489 million.

The Red Devils did, however, manage to offset some of these massive deals with sales. Lukaku was offloaded to Inter Milan in a $79 million deal back in 2019. They also collected around $115 million for selling Angel Di Maria, Dan James, and Morgan Schneiderlin as well.

Manchester United, EPL dominate net spend in decade

Many may have expected to see Chelsea top the chart. After all the Blues have spent freely in recent years. They even have shelled out the most money of any club on new players. Chelsea has spent $2.81 billion on incoming players since 2014. However, the Blues have also recouped around $1.7 billion in player sales as well.

Along with United and Chelsea, there was no surprise to see Premier League clubs dominate the spending charts. In fact, 13 English top-flight teams made up the top 20 total teams in the aforementioned list. Arsenal and Manchester City were also included in the top five of the table.

Bournemouth has higher net spend than Real Madrid

However, one particularly interesting inclusion in the spending list was Bournemouth. The Cherries currently have a net spend of about $368 million over the last decade. Only 16 clubs around the world have spent more on player transfers during this time. Surprisingly enough, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid both have a lower net spend than Bournemouth.

Clubs with the highest net spend between 2014-2023:

1. Manchester United – $1.48 billion
2. Chelsea – $1.10 billion
3. Paris Saint-Germain – $1.08 billion
4. Arsenal – $932 million
5. Manchester City – $916 million
6. Newcastle – $718 million
7. Barcelona – $709 million
8. Tottenham Hotspur – $652 million
9. AC Milan – $583 million
10. West Ham – $564 million

PHOTO: IMAGO & Sportimage