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The Premier League is the richest football league in the world, and arguably the most competitive one too.
Thanks to rich club owners and lucrative television deals, Premier League teams attract some of the top talents in the game and pay them handsomely. To put things in perspective, the combined value of the 22 teams in the inaugural Premier League season in 1992-93 was £50 million. Almost three decades later, that value has swollen by more than twenty times, albeit with two fewer teams.
Perhaps it's unsurprising that Premier League clubs have been some of the top spenders in the COVID-19 era. Even in the recently concluded transfer window, four of the top ten spenders were from the Premier League.
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On that note, here's a look at the ten top net spenders in the competition in the last five years, as per transfermarkt:
NOTE: The net spend of a club is the difference between the total spend of the club (for new signings and loan arrivals) and the amount recouped by selling players.
#10 Wolverhampton Wanderers - £181 million
It might be surprising to note that Wolverhampton Wanderers have been one of the top Premier League spenders in the last five years. That's because they spent one of the last four seasons in the Championship.
After three indifferent seasons in the second division, Wolves made a flurry of new signings, including Ruben Neves, in the summer of 2017. The results were immediate as Wolves won the Championship to return to the Premier League in 2018.
Wolves then set about replenishing their roster for an extended stay in the top flight. Joao Moutinho, Adama Traore and Diogo Jota were among the many players who were brought in during the 2018 summer. The moves yielded the desired result as Wolves produced successive seventh-place finishes.
Despite their big spending over the years, Wolves have also balanced their books well. They recently sold the likes of Jota, Rui Patricio and Matt Doherty, among others, to neutralize their expenditure on new players.
#9 Brighton & Hove Albion - £188 million
Brighton & Hove Albion have a net spend of close to £200 million in the last five years. Yet they have often languished in the bottom half of the league table.
Over the last five years, Brighton have brought in the likes of Yves Bissouma, Bernardo, Leandro Trossard and Marc Cucurella, among others. But their fortunes haven't changed, as the Seagulls have flirted with relegation in their last four Premier League seasons.
This year, they shipped out young centre-back Ben White to Arsenal for £52.6 million. In exchange, Graham Potter's side brought in the likes of Enock Mwepu and Cucurella.
But with no quality replenishment in their rearguard, Brighton could struggle yet again in the Premier League.
#8 Aston Villa - £194 million
Much like Brighton, Aston Villa have had a net spend of almost £200 million. But they have spent two of their last four seasons in the Championship.
Villa were promoted to the Premier League in 2019-20, and immediately set about replenishing their roster. They brought in the likes of Wesley, Tyrone Mings, Douglas Luiz and Pepe Reina, among others. But Villa only managed to avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth, finishing 17th.
Determined to extend their stay in the Premier League, Villa splurged money in the transfer market once again in 2020. They signed a plethora of top players, including Ollie Watkins, Bertrand Traore and Emiliano Martinez. The result was an improvement from their previous campaign as they narrowly failed to finish in the top half.
Villa have spent big this summer as well, bringing in Emiliano Buendia, Leon Bailey and Danny Ings. They have let go of Jack Grealish for a whopping £105.8 million, but seem to have used that sum wisely.
After three games this season, Villa are 11th in the league table.
#7 West Ham United - £197 million
West Ham have largely been a mid-table club in the nine consecutive seasons they have been in the Premier League.
The Hammers, though, enjoyed one of their best-ever Premier League campaigns last season, finishing sixth. Resultantly, they qualified for Europe ahead of giants Arsenal. West Ham have brought in Kurt Zouma and Nikola Vlasic for almost £60 million to help them compete in multiple competitions this season.
Ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, West Ham signed the likes of Said Benrahma and Thomas Soucek. But they could only narrowly manage to avoid relegation. A year earlier, they had spent over £100 million, bringing in the likes of Sebastian Haller (on a club-record fee) and Pablo Fornals, among others.
In the last five years, they have also signed the likes of Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko and Lukasz Fabianski. But the results haven't always been what they expected.
#6 Tottenham Hotspur - £207 million
Current Premier League leaders Tottenham Hotspur have always been shrewd operators in the transfer market.
Ahead of the 2020-21 season, Spurs spent big to improve their defense and midfield. This included the purchase of Tanguy Ndombele for £54 million. But the result was their worst finish (7th) in 12 years.
Before a quiet transfer window in 2018-19, Spurs splurged to bring in Davinson Sanchez, Lucas Moura, Serge Aurier and Fernando Llorente. The London club let go Kyle Walker to Manchester City for £47.4 million.
After a disappointing seventh-place finish last season, Spurs have brought in the likes of Bryan Gil, Emerson Royal and Pape Sarr this summer. They have also managed to keep hold of their talisman, Harry Kane, despite strong interest from Manchester City.
Although these are early days in the season, Spurs are the only team to win all three Premier League games this season. It remains to be seen how Nuno Espirito Santo's men fare in the sterner tests ahead.
#5 Everton - £221 million
One of a handful of clubs never to have endured relegation from the Premier League, Everton had a quiet transfer window this summer.
The Liverpool-based club spent big last year bringing in the likes of Ben Godfrey, Allan, Abdoulaye Doucore and James Rodriguez. But they only finished tenth after a promising start to the season.
Everton splurged over £100 million ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, but finished a lowly 12th. Significant departures that summer included Idrissa Gueye and Nikola Vlasic. A year ago, they brought in the likes of Richarlison, Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne for almost £80 million. But Everton didn't qualify for Europe that time either.
In 2017-18, Everton spent close to £200 million, signing the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jordan Pickford, Davy Klaasen and Theo Walcott. They let go of the prolific Romelu Lukaku for £76.2 million to Manchester United.
Four years later, Everton are yet to have a top-five Premier League finish in eight years. It remains to be seen if they can break into the upper echelons of the Premier League this season under the management of Rafa Benitez.
#4 Chelsea - £239 million
Chelsea have been one of the big spenders across Europe, especially in the last two seasons.
The defending Champions League winners have made many quality additions to their roster in the last five years. This season, the Blues incredibly recorded a negative net spend (-£2.1 million). Despite splurging over £100 million to bring in Romelu Lukaku, they let go Tammy Abraham, Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori, among other fringe players.
Last summer, despite the COVID-19 pandemic wrecking clubs' finances, Chelsea spent over £200 million in an extensive overhaul. They brought in the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell and Eduoard Mendy. Five of those six players, barring Ziyech, had promising debut campaigns for the Premier League giants.
Slapped with a transfer ban by FIFA ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, Chelsea made Mateo Kovavic's loan move permanent and sold Eden Hazard for £103.5 million. A year prior to that, Chelsea splurged close to £200 million to bring in Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Pulisic and Jorginho, while letting go of Thibaut Courtois for £31.5 million.
Shortly after winning the 2016-17 Premier League, the Blues had one of their most prolific transfer windows in years. They brought in the likes of Alvaro Morata, Danny Drinkwater, Antonio Rudiger and Olivier Giroud. Except for Giroud and Rudiger, the others largely failed to make any impact, though.
That summer, the Premier League giants let go Diego Costa, Nemanja Matic, Nathan Ake and Juan Cuadrado. Those four players were sold for almost £175 million, which helped the Blues balance their books.
#3 Arsenal - £337 million
Former Premier League winners Arsenal were the top spenders in the recently concluded 2021-22 summer transfer window. But the Gunners find themselves languishing in 20th spot without a goal or a point after three league games.
After failing to qualify for Europe for the first time in more than two decades last season, Arsenal went big in this summer's transfer market. They brought in the likes of Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale for £108 million, letting go of Joe Willock for £26.5 million.
A year ago, the Gunners reinforced their midfield and defense, signing Thomas Partey, Gabriel and Pablo Mari. But they only finished eighth in the Premier League.
Ahead of the 2019-20 season, the Premier League club dished out £72 million to bring in Nicolas Pepe. They also signed William Saliba, Kieran Tierney and David Luiz for £59 million. The Gunners sold the likes of Alex Iwobi, Laurent Koscielny and David Ospina for over £42 million that summer.
A year before, Arsenal had spent only £72 million, and enjoyed one of their best campaigns in recent years. They finished fifth in the Premier League and were runner-ups in the Europa League.
During the 2017-18 season, the Gunners brought in the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubayemang, Alexandre Lacazette and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The three high-profile signings arrived for almost £150 million combined.
That summer, they let go Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and Wojciech Szczesny. However, the Gunners recorded a negative net spend. The results, too, were modest at best as they sealed a sixth-place finish in the Premier League and made it to the Europa League semi-finals.
#2 Manchester City - £472 million
Manchester City have been one of the top spenders in Europe in the last few years, especially after Pep Guardiola's arrival in 2016.
The reigning Premier League winners splurged over £110 million to land Jack Grealish this summer. But they failed in their pursuit of signing Harry Kane and saw Cristiano Ronaldo snapped up by their city rivals Manchester United.
Last season, despite other clubs struggling to loosen their purse strings, City spent nearly £150 million. They brought in Ruben Dias for £61.2 million and the Portuguese proved to be an inspired signing. Dias was voted Premier League Player of the Year as City won the competition for the third time in four years.
Nathan Ake and Ferran Torres, brought in that summer for over £60 million also proved to be good signings for City. To balance the books, the Sky Blues let go of Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich for £40.5 million.
A year before that, City splurged over £125 million on defenders and defensive midfielders. They brought in Joao Cancelo, Rodri and Angelino, among others, but Liverpool pipped them to the Premier League title.
It was a more 'sedate' transfer window for City in 2018-19, with Riyad Mahrez (£61.2 million) being their only high-profile signing.
But a year before that, City splurged close to £300 million, making a plethora of big signings. They brought in Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Ederson, Bernardo Silva and Danilo. Most of them played key roles in City's successive Premier League triumphs in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
#1 Manchester United - £480 million
Manchester United may not have won the Premier League in nearly a decade. But they have been the biggest net spenders in the division in the last five years, narrowly beating City to top spot.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men have made a bevy of high-profile signings this summer. They landed Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho to address two of their deficient roster areas. They then stole a march on City by bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford after 12 long years.
A year ago, they signed Donny van de Beek, Alex Telles and Amad Diallo. But the players haven't had the desired impact at the club. United let go of Chris Smalling to Roma that summer.
After finishing a lowly sixth in the 2018-19 Premier League, United splurged over £200 million. They brought in the likes of Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James. Most of the incomings played a key role in the resurgence of United as a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League.
A high-profile departure that summer was Romelu Lukaku, who was snapped up by Inter Milan for £66.6 million. Lukaku has now returned to Chelsea after two prolific seasons with the reigning Serie A winners.
Fred (£53.1 million) was their lone high-profile signing ahead of the 2018-19 season. United let go of Daley Blind and Marouane Fellaini, among others, that summer.
Ahead of the 2017-18 season, United signed Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and Victor Lindelof in the summer. Among the trio, Matic and Lindelof are still at United. While the former is a fringe player, Lindelof could see his playing time drop this summer due to the arrival of Varane. In a swap deal that winter, Henrikh Mkhitaryan went to Arsenal for £30.6 million, while Alexis Sanchez arrived at Old Trafford.
Sanchez turned out to be an expensive flop, though, and was later shipped out to Inter Milan. Nevertheless, United finished second in the Premier League that season, 19 points adrift of champions City.
