Premier League Top Shopper - In Last One Year

By Jigar Shah

Ever since the trend of takeover in last 4-5 years, the premier league clubs have been a generous spendthrift. Personally, I stumble whenever I hear the transfer fees, its nothing to be proud of, a sheer commercial aspect involved and big dreams of winning titles are forcing these clubs to incur heavy debts. As per Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance 2009 report suggested that the net debt in respect of Premier League clubs increased to £3.1 billion in 2007/08 up from £2.7 billion the previous season.

Premier League is the most attractive league in the world, and they are one of the biggest spenders when it comes to shopping. Here is the list of top premier league spenders in last 12 months.

Manchester City £220million

The richest club on the planet, after the takeover by Abu Dhabi United Group, tops the list of the biggest spenders in the premier league. The club has spent over £220million in signing a host of players. The ambitious dream of the owner Sheikh Mansour has made the sky Blues to spend heavily in building their squad.

The club major signings are on players like Nigel De Jong (£16 million), Emmanuel Adebayor (£25 million), Carlos Tevez (£22 million), Wayne Bridge (£14 million), Roque Santa Cruz (£17.5 million) , Vincent Kompany (£6 million), Joleon Lescott (£24 million), Kolo Toure (£16 million), Gareth Barry (£12 million), Jo (£18 million) and Robinho (£32.5 million)

The sky blues should not forget that money can’t buy everything, and they will have to perform well on the field in order to win trophies.

Spurs £101million

Premier League’s most under achieved club has spent significant money in the transfer window to finish second on the list. Since taking the charge of spurs last year, Harry Redknapp has made incredible signings.

Spurs major signing are on players like Jermain Defoe (£16 million), David Bentley (£15 million), Roman Pavlyuchenko (£14 million), Robbie Keane (£12 million), Wilson Palacios (£12 million), Peter Crouch (£10million) and Sebastien Bassong (£8 million).

The manager has made several signings and surely this should help them to achieve their European dream this term.

Manchester United £76million

After the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for a whopping € 93 million, Manchester Untied is reluctant to spend the entire amount on signing new players. The Red devils are third on our list, considering Sir Alex Ferguson has spent approx £76.3million in last 12 months. The clubs major signing was on signing Dimitar Berbatov (£32.5 million) and Antonio Valencia (£16 million). It will be interesting to see, if the club can fill the huge gap, due to the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

Aston Villa £62 million

The rise of Aston Villa under Martin O’ Neill cannot be ignored. The Lions have spent significantly in the last 12 month, approx £62 million, in signing host of players. The major ones are Richard Dunne (£6 million), Stewart Downing (£10 million), Steve Sidwell (£5 million), Stephen Warnock (£7 million), Emile Heskey (£3.5 million), Luke Young (£8 million), and Carlos Cuéllar (£8 million).The club has made good signing in recent transfer windows and the progress under the Irish will be inevitable.

Liverpool £54million

Departure of Xabi Alonso might be irreplaceable, but Rafael Benitez has made decent signing in last one year. The Merseyside club has brought players like Glen Johnson (£18 million), Alberto Aquilani (£17million), and Albert Riera (£8million) to strengthen their squad. There might be rumors of financial crunch around the club, although the Reds have managed to spend roughly £35 million in the summer.

(Note: Robbie Keane is not included, considering he was sold immediately. Robbie was brought by Liverpool for £20 million)

Arsenal £41million

Wenger is a shrewd tactician when it comes to spending money in the transfer market. The Gunners are not known for their heavy spending. Although they have managed to sign club record signing Andrei Arshavin (£15 million), Thomas Vermaelen (£10 million) and Samir Nasri (£13 million). Due to Arsene Wenger’s transfer philosophy, the gunners have managed to finish sixth.

Chelsea £36million

Surprisingly, the Blues are last on our list of premier leagues biggest spenders. Since the departure of Jose Mourinho, approx spending under his reign was £220 million, the Pensioners transfer bill has fallen in the recent seasons. The Club has spent on Nemanja Matic (£1.5 million), Yuri Zhirkov (£18 million) and Jose Bosingwa (£16.3 million). The blues already has a big squad and will be looking forward to making most of the available resource under new manager Carlos Ancelotti.