The Premier League is the most lucrative league in world football.
Following the 2017/18 season, the 20 clubs split a pot of £2.42 billion in TV revenue.
West Brom, who finished bottom, earned more than £94.5 million, while Manchester United were paid a crazy £150 million.
But where does that money go?
Fans would like to see that money immediately invested in the transfer market - but that’s not always the case.
The perception is that the more money spent on new players, the more success your club will have.
But is that true?
There has been plenty of talk about how Everton are seriously underperforming this season considering the money they’ve spent, while Mauricio Pochettino is working wonders considering Spurs haven’t signed anyone since January 2018.
So, we’ve decided to take a look at the Premier League net spend table in the previous five seasons.
While it’s no surprise to see Manchester City and Manchester United leading the way, there are definitely a few shocks in there.
It’s certainly not good reading for Everton, while Spurs certainly do deserve plenty of credit for spending just over €30 million in five seasons.
When you consider that Spurs have been consistently qualifying for the Champions League and even competing for league titles, it’s remarkable to think their net spend is the second lowest in the league - especially when you consider many of the clubs have operated in the Championship during the five-year period.
As for Southampton, they’ve got Liverpool to thank for being almost €30 million in profit over the last five years. Liverpool have signed Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne, Said Mane and Virgil van Dijk all from the Saints in the past five years.
Here’s the full table (information via transfermarkt.com):
And here’s the breakdown over the five years:
1st) Manchester City
2018/19: -€22.99m
2017/18: -€226.15m
2016/17: -€178.15m
2015/16: -€140.86m
2014/15: -€57.68m
2nd) Manchester United
2018/19: -€47.35m
2017/18: -€152.90m
2016/17: -€137.85m
2015/16: -€53.93m
2014/15: -€146.06m
3rd) Arsenal
2018/19: -€75.10m
2017/18: +€3.35m
2016/17: -€102.65m
2015/16: -€24.00m
2014/15: -€91.18m
4th) Everton
2018/19: -€76.00m
2017/18: -€76.72m
2016/17: -€25.10m
2015/16: -€37.90m
2014/15: -€38.26m
5th) Chelsea
2018/19: -€155.25m
2017/18: -€60.00m
2016/17: -€24.40m
2015/16: -€3.01m
2014/15: +€7.15m
6th) Liverpool
2018/19: -€143.70m
2017/18: +€16.47m
2016/17: +€5.00m
2015/16: -€34.85m
2014/15: -€52.16m
7th) West Ham
2018/19: -€91.35m
2017/18: +12.22m
2016/17: -€42.50m
2015/16: -€34.19m
2014/15: -€30.75m
8th) Bournemouth
2018/19: -€68.90m
2017/18: -€34.30m
2016/17: -€15.20m
2015/16: -€54.46m
2014/15: -€1.12m
9th) Crystal Palace
2018/19: -€11.85m
2017/18: -€45.95m
2016/17: -€51.10m
2015/16: -€23.40m
2014/15: -€28.41m
10th) Brighton
2018/19: -€72.86m
2017/18: -€64.50m
2016/17: -€8.75m
2015/16: -€13.45m
2014/15: +€9.42m
11th) Leicester
2018/19: -€18.80m
2017/18: -€39.95m
2016/17: -€25.55m
2015/16: -€40.45m
2014/15: -€22.86m
12th) Wolves
2018/19: -€89.20m
2017/18: -€18.29m
2016/17: -€33.11m
2015/16: +€5.73m
2014/15: -€2.02m
13th) Newcastle
2018/19: -€16.43m
2017/18: -€24.78m
2016/17: +€37.13m
2015/16: -€103.28m
2014/15: -€21.41m
14th) Watford
2018/19: +€21.74m
2017/18: -€54.66m
2016/17: -€11.85m
2015/16: -€73.78m
2014/15: -€8.45m
15th) Fulham
2018/19: -€107.50m
2017/18: -€3.63m
2016/17: -€1.77m
2015/16: +€855,000
2014/15: +€470,000
16th) Huddersfield
2018/19: -€38.37m
2017/18: -€50.90m
2016/17: -€3.00m
2015/16: +€9.77m
2014/15: +€3.38m
17th) Burnley
2018/19: -€25.00m
2017/18: +€14.26m
2016/17: -€44.40m
2015/16: -€5.01m
2014/15: -€12.62m
18th) Cardiff
2018/19: -€51.20m
2017/18: -€10.02m
2016/17: +€2.68m
2015/16: +€5.90m
2014/15: +€12.98m
19th) Tottenham
2018/19: +€5.50m
2017/18: -€17.70m
2016/17: -€31.30m
2015/16: +€16.58m
2014/15: -€4.32m
20th) Southampton
2018/19: -€38.35m
2017/18: +€31.10m
2016/17: +€16.15m
2015/16: -€7.40m
2014/15: +€27.29m