Premier League agent fees revealed: Chelsea lead way as top-flight clubs splash record £460m on intermediaries

Chelsea have once again emerged as the biggest spenders on intermediary fees, shell out a massive £65.1m between February 2025 and February 2026. This marks the third consecutive year that the West London club has topped the list, bringing their total expenditure on agents to approximately £200m over the last three assessment years.

The high figure comes at a sensitive time for the Blues, who recently announced a pre-tax loss of £262m for the 2024-25 season - the largest in Premier League history. The club has pointed towards an unprecedented volume of player movement as a primary factor, noting they recorded the highest number of player sales in the league's history, offloading nearly £300m worth of talent to ensure compliance with UEFA regulations.

Aston Villa climbed to second in the spending table, with their agent outgoings hitting £38.4m. Unai Emery’s side saw the sharpest year-on-year increase of any club, with costs rising by £13.4m. Interestingly, this spike occurred despite a relatively modest transfer outlay of £69m, with the club attributing the costs to a high volume of contract renegotiations and new professional registrations.

Manchester City occupied the third spot on the list, paying out £37.4m. However, unlike many of their rivals, the Manchester giants saw their spending in this department fall significantly. City managed to reduce their payments to agents by £14.8m compared to the previous year, when they spent £52.1m. They were one of only eight clubs in the division to see a reduction in intermediary fees, alongside Brentford, Fulham, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Newcastle and Leeds.

The trend of rising costs extended to other members of the "Big Six," with Arsenal and Liverpool both recording significant jumps in their spending. The Gunners saw their payments rise by £9.4m to a total of £32.1m, while Liverpool’s expenditure increased by £13m to reach £33.9m. Wolves also joined the high-spending bracket, seeing their fees nearly double to £26m.

Newly promoted sides also felt the financial pressure of the top flight. Sunderland, following their unexpected promotion through the play-offs, saw their agent fees skyrocket from a mere £2.2m in the Championship to £10.6m in the Premier League. Conversely, Leeds United managed a rare feat by reducing their agent outgoings to £14m despite securing their own return to the top division.

The financial boom was not limited to the Premier League. The Women’s Super League saw a massive 75 per cent increase in agent fees, with the total rising to £3.8m. Mirroring the men’s game, Chelsea Women were the dominant spenders, with their £1.1m outlay accounting for more than a quarter of the entire league's total.

In the English Football League, the Championship saw a 10 per cent rise to £69.7m, led by Ipswich Town’s £11.7m spend. More dramatic growth was witnessed in League One, where fees soared by 85 per cent to £14m. This was largely driven by relegated clubs like Luton Town and Huddersfield Town, who accounted for nearly half of the third tier's total spend as they adjusted to life outside the top two divisions.