Last ten seasons 

©TM/IMAGO

English clubs have gained the reputation for their extravagant spending of clubs across the last decade. With over one month of this transfer window alone, Premier League clubs alone have already spent over €1 billion with Aston Villa the biggest spenders having invested €176m. 

But the spotlight is increasingly on clubs’ ability to generate income from selling players with clubs restricted in their ability to spend by financial fair play regulations. Several English clubs received points deductions last season due to the disparity between their expenditure and income. While historically big clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United can rely on the traditional revenue streams, more recent powerhouses like Chelsea and Manchester City have placed more emphasis on selling players for profit. The different strategies are reflected when you look at how much English clubs have made from player sales across the last ten seasons – including the 24/25 campaign so far.

Which English clubs have made the most from player sales across the last ten seasons?

Since the start of the 2015/16 summer transfer window, Chelsea have comfortably recouped more money from player sales than any other English club. The Stamford Bridge side are one of only two English clubs to surpass the €1 billion mark after generating €1.37b from selling players across the last ten seasons. Chelsea’s record sale was Eden Hazard to Real Madrid in 2019 for €121m but they’ve also excelled at selling youth players like Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Ian Maatsen – you can read about their impressive record in selling academy graduates here.

As the graphic above illustrates, Manchester City ranks second with €1.01b from player sales across the last ten years. The Citizens are also excellent at selling youth players, with Cole Palmer’s move to Chelsea last summer for €47m the perfect example. Liverpool rank third with Philippe Coutinho’s €135m departure to Barcelona the record Premier League sale in history. Leicester City and Southampton both secured promotion from the Championship last season and they both rank in the top five as they’ve excelled in selling players with Liverpool buying seven players for a combined total of €216m from the Saints. 

Perhaps surprisingly, Manchester United and Arsenal – two of the biggest clubs in England – have struggled to generate income from player sales. Both clubs have rightfully been criticised for their inability to raise funds through sales with Man United ranking 9th and Arsenal 13th. A major issue for Man United has been the inordinate wages they pay, which means they often have to accept lower offers from clubs in order to get those salaries off their books. They’ve only sold six players for more than €20m across the last ten seasons and just Romelu Lukaku and Ángel Di María eclipsed €50m – both were sold at a loss within two seasons after joining. Arsenal’s record sale is just €38m from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool in 2017 but Emile Smith Rowe’s imminent move to Fulham is set to ellipse that figure. The Gunners have failed to generate significant income from sales and their total of €407m is less than half of Man City.