AN incredible timelapse video shows which English teams have made the most money through selling players since the Premier League’s inception.
And the results in recent years are perhaps the most surprising.
The graph showing player sales was generated by football finance expert Kieran Maguire, and posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Chelsea have topped the charts for most money made through player sales since 2016, and have only extended their “lead” at the top since Todd Boehly took over the club from Roman Abramovich in 2022.
That’s seen Boehly put his own stamp on the side by spending £1billion in transfer fees during his year-and-a-half in charge so far but also led to a culling of players from the previous regime.
Mason Mount was sold for £60million to Manchester United and Kai Havertz sold to London rivals Arsenal for £65m as Boehly brought in the likes of Moises Caicedo for a British record £115m.
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The Blues also shot up the chart in 2019 when they sold Eden Hazard for £130m to Real Madrid – despite him only having a year remaining on his contract.
Chelsea have generated over £1.4bn in player sales which dwarfs the second highest sellers Liverpool, who have made £915.6m from selling players.
Liverpool were handed a huge bump in their player sales in 2018 with the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for £105m, the then second most expensive transfer of all time.
It allowed the Reds to reinvest and build a dynasty for Jurgen Klopp which has them sitting top of the table today, with the bulk of the Coutinho money being used to sign Virgil van Dijk.
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Another team that have consistently generated income through player sales down the years are Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger admitted that top stars would have to be sold to help finance the Emirates Stadium, which was built in 2006, and this led to a period of lean years where the club lost the likes of Ashley Cole, Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, and Samir Nasri to either Premier League or Champions League rivals.
The club topped the list for money generated through player sales in 2008, having sold £184.8m worth of players.
Interestingly though, Arsenal have dropped to fifth in player sales in recent years, suggesting not only is their Emirates move now paid off and generating income, but the club have stopped selling their biggest players.
The Gunners spent big on the likes of Declan Rice and David Raya this summer, which left them limited in January due to FFP regulations – suggesting that selling good players to generate revenue is no longer part of the plan.
They now sit fifth on the list with £779.4m in player sales.
Their North London rivals Spurs featured consistently since 1993 as being one of the club’s that have made the most money through selling players.
The club topped the chart at the beginning of the graph and have largely stayed in the top six of selling clubs since then.
The club’s MO until recently was to develop players and sell them for big profits with players like Dimitar Berbatov, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale all examples of that.
Harry Kane aside, that seems to have changed in recent years, with Spurs still signing young players with high potential, but now fighting tooth and nail to keep them at the club.
They now sit fourth in the table on £896.4m, being overtaken by Manchester City – indicating a change in approach from Spurs.
City shot up on the table from 14th when Sheikh Mansour took over the club in 2008 with £55.3m in player sales to third in 2024 with £880m revenue generated.
The club have never sold a star during the Sheikh’s reign so their appearance near the top is a little surprising – but their ranking on the list is largely down to selling academy products.
The financial capital invested in the academy by the club’s UAE owners means City’s academy products pop up all over world football, Pedro Porro’s £42m transfer to Spurs last year saw City benefit from a sell-on clause for example.
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The club have also done well in selling the likes of Jeremie Frimpong to Bayer Leverkusen, who looks set for a mega money transfer at the end of the season – and the £42.5m sale of Cole Palmer to Chelsea also benefitting the club’s bottom line.
The sales have aided their ability to splash the cash within the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules and sign the likes of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £100m – but the club remain under investigation by the Premier League for their spending.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
