New report shows worldwide clubs biggest net spends last decade – Newcastle United make the list | OneFootball

It is no secret that Newcastle United are now spending money in the transfer market.

Still not as much as many, indeed all of the s0-called Premier League ‘big six’ spent more (see report here) than Newcastle did this summer 2023 window.

The recent increased spending by Newcastle United an absolute essential, after so many years of neglect under Mike Ashley, a failure to allow proper investment right across the club – not just in the transfer market.

A new report published on Wednesday morning has now looked back over the past decade at spending by clubs worldwide.

The CIES Football Observatory researching the net transfer spending over the last decade, so it includes everything from the January 2014 window, right through to and including the summer 2023 window, all 20 transfer windows.

The report showing which clubs around the world had the biggest net spend (money paid out for transfers less cash banked on players moving to other clubs).

All of the figures are in euros and the CIES Football Observatory say that they ‘…include fixed transfer fees, any add-ons regardless of whether they have actually been paid, as well as sums invested in the context of paying loans. Amounts negotiated for loans with an obligation to buy are included in the breakdown for the year of the transfer. Within the limits of available information, the data on beneficiaries considers sell-on fees negotiated by previous clubs.’

The report points out…

‘During this period, Manchester United has the most negative balance (-€1.396 billion), while the Portuguese side SL Benfica has the best (+€764 million).

Two other teams have had transfer losses of more than €1 billion over the last ten years: Chelsea and Paris St-Germain. Chelsea also has the most negative balances in the post-COVID period (-€993 million) and the calendar year 2023 (-€558 million). In contrast, SL Benfica outranks AFC Ajax (+€434m) and RB Salzburg (+€422m) over the last decade, while Villarreal has the most positive net spending in the 2023 calendar year (+€117m).’

Not a great surprise to see those clubs at the very extremes, when it comes to making profits and losses on net spends.

The fact that Newcastle United are as high as sixth will no doubt please some of our critics.

However, in reality, €529m of the €671m net spend by Newcastle United has happened in the last five transfer windows (after Covid), with all but one of those under the new Newcastle United owners. That final Ashley window of summer 2021, saw only one player bough, Joe Willock for €29m (according to transfermarkt).

So in the 15 previous Mike Ashley transfer windows (January 2014 to January 2021 inclusive), there was a total net spend of €142m, which averages out at €9.46m per window, only around £8m in pounds sterling.

The reality is that with Mike Ashley refusing to allow proper investment, Newcastle United weren’t investing in their academy or spending money on top young talent that would hopefully pay dividends in the future, both on the pitch in the first team and / or if eventually selling these young players years later. Just look at how many young players Chelsea have signed and brought through in the past, then most of all, have a look at how much they have banked from selling them! So in reality the likes of theirs (Chelsea’s) and other clubs, so many Premier League clubs spending far far more than Newcastle United this past decade when it comes to gross spending.

Just look at when the new Newcastle United owners came in and replaced Mike Ashley, pretty much no saleable assets unless selling first choice players, which would have made zero sense!

So this net spend figure by the new NUFC owners is massively distorted, because they have had no choice but to spend these net amounts, as apart from ASM and Chris Wood, significant cash couldn’t be generated by sales.

One thing though massively stands out overall.

That is, 16 of the top 23 net spend clubs these past 10 years are Premier League clubs.

Whilst 20 of the top 36 are PL clubs.