The Political Economy of Football V2

National League system clubs paid over £1.2m to football agents in 2025/26. The largest sums were paid by former EFL clubs with Carlisle United, relegated last year, top of the list at just under £188k.   Promotion hopefuls York City spent £169k.  Forest Green Rovers forked out £164k and Southend United £80k.  National League leaders Rochdale paid £43k. Torquay United in National League South spent £15k as did Chelmsford City.   At Step 5 Bury managed to pay out £2,000.

Fees paid to agents by men’s teams in England’s top four divisions raced past the half-billion-pound barrier for the first time this season, according to data disclosed by the Football Association (FA) on Wednesday afternoon. Chelsea spent £65.1million on agent fees, topping the club list for the third season running under the ownership of BlueCo, a consortium led by Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly. In BlueCo’s other season at the helm, Chelsea were the second-highest spenders on agents. In 2025-26, Chelsea accounted for 12 per cent of the agent spend of the 92 clubs in the football league. In all, Chelsea have spent £272million on agent fees in four seasons under their current owners, significantly more than anyone else in that period bar Manchester City (£236.7m). The jump to the next highest spender in that time, Manchester United, at £152.6m, is significant. Indeed, only three other clubs have spent more than £100m on agents over the past four years: Liverpool, Arsenal and As...

Intermediaries are not popular in any market, think estate agents.  However, their presence and persistence suggests they perform a necessary function.   Football agents are often perceived as ripping off fans, clients and clubs.   Instances of that certainly occur and the merger trend among agents may increase their bargaining power in relation to clubs.  Attempts at regulation by football governance bodies have been relatively limited in their impact. A four-way merger is to create a significant new football agency that represents some of the leading players in Europe, continuing the wave of deals in the sports and talent representation industry. Bruin Capital, a New York-based investment firm led by former IMG Sports & Entertainment president George Pyne, and private equity company TJC are backing the creation of the agency branded As1. It will bring together three acquisitions in Nomi Sports, Position Number and Promoesport, with Bruin also set ...

Chelsea paid the highest amount of fees to agents and intermediaries compared to other Premier League clubs for the 2023-24 season. Mauricio Pochettino’s side spent £75.1million ($93.2m) on fees paid to agents and intermediaries — in figures published by the English Football Association (FA) — between February 1, 2023 to February 1, 2024. Manchester City were second on the list, with over £60.6m paid on agents/intermediaries fees, with Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku, Matheus Nunes and Josko Gvardiol a selection of the players signed by the Premier League champions. There is a significant drop to the third highest paying club; Manchester United paid over £34m on agents/intermediaries fees, Liverpool’s totaling £31.5m and Arsenal completing the top five with over £24.7m. The total sum of Premier League club’s spending on agent fees tallied over £409.5m, up from £318.2m in the 2022-23 campaign. The figures have increased season-on-seaso...

A total of £272 million was handed over to agents by the Premier League’s 20 clubs during a 12-month period from February 1, 2020, £9 million up on the previous season and £12 million more than in 2018-19. The numbers keep on climbing for an industry “only” able to command £211 million back in 2017-18. Chelsea spent £35 million, Manchester City £30 million, Manchester United £29 million, Liverpool £21 million, Arsenal and Tottenham both £16 million. Even Newcastle United, a club fearing relegation to the Championship, had an outlay of £11 million. For every £10 that comes into a Premier League club through central funding, £1 effectively goes to those who look after the club’s players. A total spend of £41 million in the Championship included close to £7 million spent by Norwich and £5.6 million from Bournemouth, two relegated clubs eager to find an instant return to the Premier League. Stoke City, meanwhile, managed to hand over £3 million to agents, a figure greater than all of...

Premier League clubs spent £263m on agents last season, a slight increase on the season before.  Liverpool paid out the most and Burnley the least:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53170215 There was an approximate correlation with league placings, although Tottenham Hotspur paid less than might be expected from their league position.   This is not a surprise when one considers their restrained wages and transfer policies.   Everton paid a bit more than one might expect, but they are an ambitious club, Agents are unpopular because they are seen as they taking money out of the game, but many markets need intermediaries to function well.