Premier League clubs made payments of £460m to agents over the past year – a 13% increase on the previous 12 months.

It covers payments made by clubs to agents registered with the Football Association involving a player, coach or club – including transfer and contracts – between February 2025 and February 2026.

Chelsea, who paid out £65.1m, were the highest spenders for the third consecutive year.

On Wednesday, the west London club announced the biggest pre-tax loss in Premier League history. The £262m deficit for 2024-25 eclipses the £197.5m lost by Manchester City in 2011.

The Blues partly attribute this year’s figure to recording the highest number of player sales in Premier League history.

Chelsea offloaded nearly £300m worth of players to comply with Uefa sanctions.

After record payments of £75m to agents in 2023-24, the club have spent a total of £200m over the past three assessment years.

Aston Villa were second on the list, paying £38.4m, which was an increase of £13.4m – the highest rise of any club.

This is despite the Villans spending a relatively modest £69m on incoming transfers. Unai Emery’s side had a high number of costs associated with renegotiating player contracts and new professional registrations.

In third were Manchester City with £37.4m, though year-on-year spending fell dramatically – down by £14.8m from £52.1m.

Arsenal, Liverpool and Wolves also saw significant increases in agents fees.

The Gunners’ payments went up £9.4m to £32.1m. Liverpool’s rose £13m to £33.9m. Wolves saw an increase of £12.5m to £26m.

Sunderland’s unexpected promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs brought a rise in payments from just £2.2m to £10.6m.

Alongside Manchester City, seven other clubs reduced payments to agents.

Brentford, Fulham, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and West Ham saw modest drops.

Newcastle’s payments were reduced by £4.1m to £20.3m, while Leeds – despite being promoted – cut outgoings on agents’ fees by £4.9m to £14m.

Spending in the Women’s Super League rose 75%, by £1.6m to £3.8m.

Chelsea were again the biggest spenders, with their £1.1m accounting for over a quarter of the total.

Payments went up by 10% in the Championship to £69.7m, with Ipswich Town the highest spenders on £11.7m.

Agents fees in League One soared by 85%, influenced by the presence of Luton Town (£3.3m), Cardiff City (£1.7m) and Huddersfield Town (£1.5m), who accounted for close to half of the £14m total.

In League Two, the amount fell slightly by 5% to £2.6m.