LIVERPOOL HAVE SPENT more on football agent fees that any other team in the Premier League since February last year, according to documents released by the FA.
The power and influence of football agents has again been thrust into the spotlight after English football’s governing body released figures listing how much each club paid to intermediaries over the last 12 months.
Since 1 February 2018, Jurgen Klopp’s side have spent £43.8m in fees – during transfer windows in which the talent of goalkeeper Alisson Becker, midfielder Fabinho and winger Xherdan Shaqiri arrived at the club.
In total, Premier League teams have spent more than £260m. Liverpool have spent £17m more than Chelsea who are second on the list with a bill of £26.8m.
Both Manchester clubs then follow the Blues – City spending £24.1m, while Mourinho’s United last year splashed £20.7m.
Bottom of the list are relegation-threatened Cardiff City, who have spent just £2.8m on fees to intermediaries.
Everton rank just below United in the top five with £19.1m spent, while high-flying Wolves forked out just £6.4m for their dealings this past year.
To demonstrate the financial muscle of the Premier League and the new money brought in by the recent TV rights deal, England’s top flight have paid out more than five times that of the Championship.
Compared to figures for the same date range a year previous, agents fees have increased by £49.6m – a 23% increase in 12 months.
The data calls into the question once again the eye-watering sums that football agents are paid and the level of influence they have in working with the world’s elite football clubs.
You can find the full list of from 2017/18 here.
Capping Fees
The 20 Premier League stakeholders will this Friday meet to discuss capping intermediaries fees and new regulations that will end dual representation of players – meaning agents will get a cut from both buying and selling clubs during a player’s transfer.
Jorge Mendes is an example one of the prominent ‘super-agents’ currently working in world football, with Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo among his clients.
This afternoon, Mendes helped to complete the permanent deal of Raul Jimenez to Wolves on a four-year deal – smashing the Premier League side’s transfer record.
Fifa are currently working with the Premier League in an effort to regulate how much agents can earn from such deals.
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