Chelsea make WHOPPING €700m more in sales than Man Utd
Carlo Garganese
- 8 Feb 2022 08:08 CST
- 3 min read
If you ever want to see just how badly Manchester United have been run over the past decade, compare their spending in the transfer market in that time to Chelsea.
This was perfectly laid out in a study released on Monday by the CIES Football Observatory.
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The biggest headline from the study was that Man Utd’s net transfer spend over the course of the last 10 years is by some distance the greatest in European football, topping €1 billion (€1.075bn, to be exact).
Compare this to Chelsea, whose net spend of €413 million means they are only tenth in Europe over the last decade.
The reason why Chelsea’s net spend is so low is because they have sold so well since 2012.
The Blues actually have a bigger gross spend than Man Utd - €1.614bn to €1.545bn. Only Man City and Barcelona have spent more.
But Chelsea have managed to recoup an incredible €1.2bn in sales since 2012. This has largely been as a result of their successful loan policy, in which they have loaned younger players out around before selling them on for a big profit.
But it has also been as a result of smart business and selling players at the right time. Eden Hazard is the best example of this. He was sold to Real Madrid for €100m in 2019 and has since proven to be an almighty flop in La Liga. Alvaro Morata and Diego Costa were sold to Atletico Madrid for over €100m combined, while Oscar was shipped off to China for over €60m.
Man Utd, meanwhile, have been a disaster when it comes to selling players. They have brought in only €470m in sales since 2012, which is incredibly €731m less than Chelsea have recouped.
Biggest Net Spends (2012-2022)
| Team | Spend (€m) | Sales (€m) | Net spend (€m) |
| Man Utd | 1545 | 470 | 1075 |
| Man City | 1699 | 715 | 984 |
| PSG | 1445 | 504 | 941 |
| Barcelona | 1630 | 980 | 650 |
| Arsenal | 1029 | 446 | 583 |
| Juventus | 1542 | 981 | 561 |
| Milan | 884 | 452 | 432 |
| Everton | 911 | 482 | 429 |
| Aston Villa | 701 | 277 | 424 |
| Chelsea | 1614 | 1201 | 413 |
| Inter | 1058 | 673 | 385 |
| West Ham | 676 | 302 | 374 |
| Bayern Munich | 815 | 452 | 363 |
| Liverpool | 1128 | 781 | 347 |
| Newcastle | 648 | 309 | 339 |
| Tottenham | 1013 | 677 | 336 |
| Crystal Palace | 449 | 157 | 292 |
| Leicester | 661 | 386 | 275 |
| Brighton | 398 | 150 | 248 |
| Wolves | 482 | 235 | 247 |
It is no surprise that Chelsea have been so much more successful than Man Utd. The Blues have won two Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, two Europa Leagues, two FA Cups, a League Cup and a European Super Cup in the last decade.
Man Utd, on the other hand, have not come close to winning the Premier League since 2013 or progressed past the quarter-finals of the Champions League. It has now been almost five years since they won a trophy and their only recent cups are more minor trophies such as the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League.
