Where the big six spend their money

The authoritative Swiss Ramble looks at where the money goes by analysing the last five years for the Big Six Premier League clubs.

Manchester United generated most revenue in the last five years with £2.8 bln, ahead ofManchester City £2.6 bn, and around £900m more than Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. United led the way in both match day and commercial income, but were behind Man City and Liverpool in broadcasting revenue.

Two of the Big Six received owner funding in the form of share capital injections: Manchester City £81m and Chelsea £50m. This is the best form of owner financing for the club, as it does not need to be repaid.

Four of the Big Six spent between £1.4 bn and £1.5 bn on wages in the last five years. Manchester City led the way with £1,545m, just ahead of United £1,498m, followed by Liverpool £1,422m and Chelsea £1,366m. There is then a big gap to Arsenal £1,117m and particularly Spurs £839m.

Three of the Big Six account for two-thirds of player purchases in last five years, namely Man City £978m, Chelsea £924m and United £886m. There is then a fairly steep drop to Liverpool £637m, Arsenal £573m and Spurs £347m.

Tottenham Hotspur are responsible for over 70% of the Big Six capital expenditure in the last five years with £1.2 bn (very largely on their new stadium). The others’ outlay is considerably smaller, though both Man City and Liverpool spent around £130m on infrastructure improvements.

In the last five years Arsenal had the lowest revenue and just about lowest player sales of the Big Six. As a result their wages and player purchases lagged behind. They still had to use £239m of the cash reserve they had built up in better times.

Chelsea benefited the most from owner funding with £267m in the last 5 years (loans £217m and share capital £50m), but generated the most from player sales with £513m. They had the second highest player purchases with £924m.