Manchester United paid out more than £10m in agent fees between October and February this season, the highest amount out of all the Premier League clubs.
It is understood that contract negotiations involving the goalkeeper David de Gea and other players contributed to the figure, which is 21.5% of the overall net spend on agents by top-flight clubs from 1 October 2015 to 1 February 2016, as United did not make any new signings during the January transfer window. They spent £10.02m on agents while Liverpool’s outlay – the second highest – was £6.67m. The lowest amount spent in the period, £471,400 was by Everton.
The net total paid to agents by Premier League clubs was £46,582,843, including payments made by clubs on behalf of players, with only six teams, including the leaders Leicester City, spending less than £1m. The Football Association is now responsible for monitoring agents and said the payments included in the figures may have also been made in respect of transactions entered into prior to April last year.
In April 2015 Fifa decided to deregulate the industry, with agents becoming known officially as intermediaries. The world governing body argued that underhand and unlicensed transactions across the world were rife and that leaving regulation to national associations would increase transparency.
Previously, the Premier League published the total spend on agents on an annual basis, encompassing two transfer windows. From 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2015 clubs in the top division spent £129,857,560 on agents involved in contract negotiations or transfer deals, with Liverpool and Manchester United providing the biggest outlay during that period.
The £10m United spent between October and February this season was on renegotiations of numerous contracts, with de Gea signing a four-year extension in September after almost departing for Real Madrid. All summer transactions made in English football between April 2015 and February 2016 and the agents involved have been documented by the FA.
United were comfortably the biggest spenders on intermediary fees, spending £3m more than any other club. Manchester City paid £5.8m, Arsenal £3.1m, Chelsea £2.2m, West Ham £2.6m and Tottenham £2.5m.
In the Championship, the 24 clubs spent a total £6.98m on agent fees. It is perhaps no surprise that by far the biggest spenders were Queens Park Rangers, relegated last season, who paid £1m, while only two clubs eclipsed the half a million mark. Hull City and Cardiff City, the former also relegated from the Premier League in 2014-15, spent £740,789 and £542,546 respectively.
Ten clubs in the Football League did not pay out anything to agents, four of those sides in League One and six in League Two. In League One the biggest spenders were Wigan Athletic and Sheffield United at £164,268 and £116,488 respectively, with the third tier’s total coming in at £658,791. In League Two the total was £163,334, with Oxford United’s £32,703 the largest sum.
Following the change in regulations last year, intermediaries are no longer required to pass an exam to qualify. They need to have an “impeccable reputation” – essentially without a criminal record – have no conflicted interests, and in England pay £500 to register with the FA. At the time, the London-based Association of Football Agents declared that the rule-change would create “anarchy” in the industry.
