City spend eight times as much as United on agents
MANCHESTER CITY’S lavish recruitment policy saw them splash out almost £13m in agents’ fees alone last year – more than eight times as much as champions Manchester United.
City, who have spent close to £120m on signing a host of big-name players in the last 12 months, paid agents £12.9m for transfers and contract negotiations.
But local rivals United, who retained the Premier League title and reached the Champions League final, paid middle-men a comparatively meagre £1.5m, figures published yesterday by the Football Association reveal.
City, whose performances so far this campaign have struggled to justify their huge outlay, top the agent fees table, with traditional big spenders Chelsea, who paid £9.5m, second and Liverpool, on £6.7m, third.
Unfashionable Wigan (£5.5m) were the fifth biggest spenders on agents’ fees, shelling out almost £800,000 more than Arsenal (£4.8m), in an illustration that this table can differ wildly from league positions.
United’s frugality is the most eye-catching, with Hull, Sunderland, Bolton and Portsmouth all above them.
Top-flight newcomers Burnley prop up the table, having spent less than £500,000.
It is the first time that Premier League clubs have divulged how much they spend on agents, as part of new requirements designed to increase financial transparency.