Man Utd have the highest net spend in world football over the last decade
Karan Tejwani
- 26 Aug 2022 13:05 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United have recorded the biggest net spend out of all clubs in Europe’s top five leagues in the last decade, according to data from the CIES Football Observatory.
They are ahead of Manchester City in second place and Paris Saint-Germain in third, having spent big on transfers since the retirement of Alex Ferguson as manager.
Manchester United have spent €1.54 billion in the last decade and earned €470 million, taking their net spend to -€1.007 billion, just over Manchester City.
Big transfers such as that of Paul Pogba, Harry Maguire, Romelu Lukaku, Angel Di Maria and Jadon Sancho have contributed heavily to that figure, and they aren’t great at selling players either.
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Man City, PSG, Barcelona behind Man Utd
Although Manchester City have spent more on transfers (€1.699 billion), they’ve sold slightly better than their city rivals having made €715 million on sales for a net spend of -€984 million.
Paris Saint-Germain, who’ve been breaking transfer records and signing the world’s best players, have spent €1.445 billion on transfers and sold €504 million for a net spend of -€941 million.
Barcelona’s flurry of poor transfer activity in the late 2010s has shown, they’re fourth on the list with a net spend of -€650 million.
Rivals Real Madrid show their quality in their sales and are 25th on the list, with a net spend of -€179 million, having made €984 million through sales.
A special unveiling for a special player 🌟
👋🏟 @Casemiro #MUFC pic.twitter.com/gWBDPCgU7V— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 25, 2022
The Spanish and European champions have a net spend lower than that of Leeds United, RB Leipzig, Wolfsburg, Napoli, Crystal Palace, Everton and others.
Juventus are the Italian club with the greatest net spend, having dished out €1.542 billion on transfers and made up €981 million in sales for a net spend of -€561 million.
Bayern Munich are the only German club in the top 21 and they have the 13th highest net spend with a total of -€403 million, showing the shrewdness of their transfers in recent times.
The club have been more willing to spend in recent years, evident by transfers of Lucas Hernandez, Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane, but have also made some good sales, such as that of Robert Lewandowski.
The top 20 is dominated by clubs in the Premier League with the likes of Tottenham, Newcastle, Wolves, Brighton, Leicester and Crystal Palace all taking up places.
