Top 10 Football Clubs with the Highest Net Spend Over the Last 5 Years (2022–2026)

Short answer: Al-Hilal have the biggest net transfer spend in football over 2022–2026, at -€873.3 million, according to CIES: €925.1 million spent and about €51.8 million recouped. Tottenham Hotspur (-€840.4M) and Manchester United (-€830.8M) are second and third, and Chelsea are fourth at -€762.3 million.

When football supporters evaluate transfer windows, total gross spend often grabs the headlines. We see eye-watering £100M figures splashed across social media and celebrate marquee unveilings. But within the disciplined world of football corporate finance, gross expenditure tells only half the story. The true test of a club’s transfer sustainability is net spend: total money spent on new signings minus total cash recouped from player sales.

A club that spends €200 million but generates €180 million through player exits operates on a sustainable -€20 million net deficit. Conversely, a club that spends €150 million but fails to offload surplus players runs up a -€150 million net spend. Under UEFA’s squad cost rule and, from 2026/27, the Premier League’s Squad Cost Ratio, heavy spending that isn’t matched by revenue can lead to fines, registration limits and points deductions.

As explored in our companion study on the most profitable player transfers in football history, clubs with elite player trading models can balance the books with ease. But what about the clubs spending far more than they recoup? To find out, we use the CIES Football Observatory’s figures for net transfer spending over the calendar years 2022–2026: ten transfer windows, up to 9 September 2026, with fees including add-ons. Here is the ranking of the Top 10 Football Clubs with the Highest Net Spend Over the Last 5 Years.

Which 10 football clubs have the highest net spend in 2022–2026?

The table ranks the ten clubs with the largest negative transfer balances over the calendar years 2022–2026 (ten windows, to 9 September 2026), according to CIES. Spending and net spend are CIES figures; sales income is our calculation (spending minus net spend).

Biggest net transfer spend, 2022–2026. Source: CIES Football Observatory, Weekly Post 552 (9 September 2026). Ten transfer windows.

What drove the biggest net transfer spends?

1. Al-Hilal: Saudi Arabia’s Biggest Spender (-€873.3M)

Perhaps the biggest structural shift in the transfer market is the rise of the Saudi Pro League. Al-Hilal, one of the clubs taken over by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in 2023, spent €925.1 million between 2022 and 2026 on players including Neymar, Malcom, Rúben Neves and Aleksandar Mitrović. The PIF also appears in our ranking of the wealthiest football club owners.

Because Saudi clubs rarely sell players for big fees, Al-Hilal recouped only about €51.8 million over the same period, leaving a -€873.3 million net spend, the largest of any club in the CIES data. Al-Ahli (-€441.0M) and Al-Nassr (-€433.8M) complete the top ten.

2. Tottenham & Manchester United: Big Spending, Modest Sales (-€840.4M and -€830.8M)

Tottenham spent €1.45 billion over 2022–2026, the third-highest gross figure in the CIES data, and recouped about €608 million. Manchester United spent €1.25 billion on recruits including Antony, Casemiro, Rasmus Højlund and Mason Mount, but recouped only about €418 million.

United have struggled to sell surplus players for big fees, and the result is a -€830.8 million net spend, just behind Tottenham’s -€840.4 million. Minority owner INEOS, which bought into the club in 2024, has since cut costs across the club.

3. Chelsea FC: The Biggest Spender, Not the Biggest Net Spender (-€762.3M)

Following the 2022 takeover by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, Chelsea went on the biggest spending spree in the CIES data: €2.30 billion over 2022–2026. They broke the British transfer record twice in 2023, for Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo, and handed out contracts of seven to eight years.

But Chelsea also sold heavily, including Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovačić and Conor Gallagher, recouping about €1.54 billion. That leaves a -€762.3 million net spend, fourth in the world. To meet the old PSR limits, Chelsea also sold off-pitch assets such as the club’s hotels to sister companies.

Why do Manchester City and Real Madrid miss the top 10?

Supporters often assume that Manchester City and Real Madrid must top every spending leaderboard. On net spend, neither makes the top ten:

• Manchester City’s Sales Machine: City spent €1.62 billion over 2022–2026, second only to Chelsea, on players such as Erling Haaland and Joško Gvardiol. But sales of academy graduates and squad players, including Cole Palmer, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Julián Álvarez, brought in about €1.34 billion, so their net spend is only -€274.4 million.
• Real Madrid’s Bosman Strategy: Real Madrid signed Kylian Mbappé, Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba on free transfers, saving fees for targeted moves like Jude Bellingham. Their 2022–2026 net spend of -€361.7 million ranks just outside the top ten, behind Ipswich Town (-€405.5M), Como 1907 (-€382.3M) and Al-Ittihad (-€374.0M).

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