Premier League clubs spent a total of £409.59 million ($509m) in agent fees across the last two transfer windows, with Chelsea spending more than any other team, figures released by the Football Association (FA) on Friday show.
Chelsea paid £75m ($93m) to agents to sign players including Moisés Caicedo for a British record £115m ($146m) fee, as well as Cole Palmer, Christopher Nkunku, Romeo Lavia and others.
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Manchester City paid £60m ($74.7m) in agent fees on players such as Joško Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Jérémy Doku and Matheus Nunes.
Manchester United paid £34m ($42m) in intermediary fees, Liverpool, £31.5m ($39m), and Arsenal, just over £24m ($29.8m).
The total figure paid to intermediaries represents a notable increase compared to the £318m ($396m) spent in the previous period.
Commissions to agents have doubled in the last seven years and in the 2016-2017 season these payments rose to £174m ($216m).
Chelsea’s spend on agent fees alone was more than most top-flight clubs paid on transfers.
It also eclipsed the combined total of agent fees paid by second-tier Championship clubs (£61m, $75.9m).
The transactions involve new signings plus outgoing players or squad members who had their contracts updated.
After Chelsea were taken over by American Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, they bet big on young players signing long-term contracts, spending more than $1 billion in transfer fees since they bought the club in May 2022.
However, Chelsea have struggled to reach the lofty heights they did under former owner Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, with the London side finishing 12th last season while standing a lowly ninth in the current campaign.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.