UEFA has published its financial report for the 2024/25 fiscal year, which reveals that Manchester United have the highest net transfer spend of any club in the world over the past five years.
Since 2015, revenue for European club football has grown by more than €13 billion, driven primarily by increased revenue from UEFA competitions, broadcast rights, commercial partnerships and ticket sales. Over the same period, transfer revenue has risen by 211%, underlining the sport’s ongoing global reach and commercial appeal.
Reporter: What is the significance of this edition of the UEFA European Club Football Finance and Investment Landscape Report, and what does it reveal about the state of European football?UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin: This edition of the UEFA European Club Football Finance and Investment Landscape Report is truly remarkable. It not only paints a clear picture of the current financial state of European club football, but also looks back at the evolution of the sport over the past decade. The findings of the report are encouraging. Over the last ten years, European football has emerged stronger from one of the most difficult periods our sport and society have faced.Despite all the noise, pressure and scepticism, the future of European football remains bright. The next decade will bring new challenges, but also genuine opportunities. With the valuable insights provided by this report, European football can prepare more effectively and work together to build a healthy, successful future.
This extraordinary level of spending lays bare the extent of Manchester United’s underperformance between early 2021 and the end of 2025.
UEFA’s Club Licensing Benchmarking Report shows that Manchester United recorded a net transfer spend of €794 million (£692 million) over this five-year period, with Chelsea second on £656 million and Arsenal third on £587 million.
Chelsea recorded the highest gross transfer spend of any club, laying out £1.93 billion – around 56% more than the second-highest spenders, Manchester City, who spent £1.23 billion. However, Chelsea also generated the highest transfer income, at £711 million, with Manchester City close behind on £666 million.
The report states:“Premier League clubs have a significantly higher level of spending compared to non-English clubs. Seven of the top ten teams in terms of cumulative transfer fees at the end of the 2025 fiscal year play in the Premier
League.Chelsea Football Club’s squad at the end of the 2025 fiscal year is the most expensive in the club’s history, with a cumulative transfer fee value of €1.746 billion – €90 million higher than the record the club set the previous year.”
This surpasses the total value of Real Madrid’s 2020 squad (around £1.13 billion), with UEFA’s report identifying broadcast revenue as the single biggest differentiating factor. Premier League clubs saw a £1.3 billion increase in broadcast revenue in 2024 compared to 2014 – a figure equal to the combined broadcast revenue of the other 53 top-flight leagues in Europe.
The report adds: “For the 2025/26 season, the growth in broadcast revenue for Premier League clubs is expected to be more than double the combined growth across the rest of Europe.”
However, the financial gap between the Premier League’s top clubs and the rest of the division is far smaller than that seen in La Liga. In terms of commercial revenue, the top clubs in the Premier League earn nine times more than mid-table sides in the division, compared to a 36-fold difference in La Liga.
The report also notes: “The ability of competition organisers and governing bodies to narrow financial gaps through solidarity payments and prize money distribution must therefore be viewed in this context.”
