Manchester United have racked up the biggest transfer fee overruns over the past decade among clubs in Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues, according to a new study.
The Red Devils’ spending on 33 transfers between July 2012 and November 2021 was €238m (£209m) higher than the total estimated value of those players before transfer according to a statistical model developed by the Observatory. CIES football.
Juventus and Paris St Germain turned out to be the two clubs with the next highest overs, at €234m and €162m (£205m and £142m) respectively.
Aston Villa recorded the second highest overrun among English clubs at €149m (£130m), followed by Chelsea at €135m (£118m).
Only three Premier League teams were among the 36 clubs that invested less money than expected to secure the deals assessed, underlining the role of top English clubs in driving up transfer inflation.
Wolves were found to have underpaid by seven million euros, Tottenham by six million and Brighton by one million.
