Top-flight clubs paid agents £261m

PREMIER LEAGUE clubs paid a combined £261million to agents in 2018-19. Liverpool were the biggest spenders for the second season in a row with Jurgen Klopp’s title-chasers paying nearly £44m in agent’s fees. Last summer Liverpool signed Alisson, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri, which saw their payments balloon from £27m to £44m. Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United complete the top four, with Chelsea spending £27m, City £24m and United £21m. Overall, English football spent £318m on intermediaries across the professional leagues — a rise of £60m on a year ago. Everton’s summer spending spree saw them rise to fifth in terms of agent fees on £19m, with West Ham next in line on £14m. Even Tottenham — who have not signed any new players since Lucas Moura’s arrival in January 2018 — spent £11m. Championship clubs paid out a combined £50m, £8m more than a year ago, with Stoke giving agents more than £7m. League One sides spent almost £6m, with Sunderland accounting for half of the total on their own, and League Two clubs gave agents just under £1m. Emiliano Sala’s transfer from Nantes to Cardiff does not feature in the Football Association’s list of transactions. The two clubs are still embroiled in a legal dispute after the Argentinian striker (below) and pilot David Ibbotson were killed when the plane that was taking them to the UK crashed in the English Channel. Sala was announced as Cardiff’s £15m record signing in January but they have withheld payment, sparking a bitter legal dispute.