Leeds United outspent AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Barcelona in 2023 - and still got relegated

They outspent AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Barcelona and were still relegated from the Premier League in May.

The highly-respected International Centre for Sports Studies (whose French name is abbreviated to CIES) analyses global football finances, and has estimated Leeds lost £56m on transfers this year.

Their figures consistently highlight the financial strength of England's top division.

Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Marseille and the four Saudi Arabian clubs owned by its Public Investment Fund are the only overseas sides to outspend Leeds in 2023.

Bournemouth – who signed Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra from Leeds and beat them to Max Aarons – are estimated to be the fourth-biggest spenders on the planet in 2023.

Leeds were 19th, Milan 20th and Barcelona did not make the top 20, the consequence of irrational spending which has lost £570m on transfers in 10 year. Bayern spent nearly £100m on Harry Kane this summer without making the year's top 20.

Manchester City have been outspent by Arsenal since 2014 but the top four were predictable – PSG, Chelsea and Manchester United.

Leeds were only a Premier League club for one of 2023’s transfer windows but received parachute payments for the other.

They bought Georginio Rutter in January for a potential club-record £35m. Max Wober was signed for around £10m, then loaned out for around £430,000 this summer due to a release clause.

The fee for Weston McKennie's unsuccessful half-season loan from Juventus was thought to be in excess of £1m.

It came on the back of buying the likes of Brenden Aaronson, Luis Sinisterra, Tyler Adams, Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca, and Wilfried Gnonto in the summer of 2022. All bar Gnonto – who tried to leave – will be playing elsewhere this season yet only £24m Adams was sold.

Another season in the Premier League could have justified the expense. Instead, the club needed to cut costs dramatically.

Adams is one of 19 players to leave this year (ignoring those released), but the only one sold for more than £3m.

Joel Piroe, Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev, Glen Kamara and Karl Darlow were bought this summer, Jaidon Anthony, Djed Spence and Joe Rodon loaned and Sam Byram a free transfer.

Piroe, Gruev and Kamara’s fees were covered by Adams' sale.

Leeds' ownership passed in full to San Francisco 49ers Enterprises in July having been almost equal partners of Andrea Radrizzani.

In an increasingly opaque transfer market where "undisclosed" fees are the norm, CIES figures are "estimates as close as possible to reality" and include “add-ons”, loan fees, and projected transfer fees where loans contain an obligation to buy.

Where Leeds let many players to go on loan if asked to take a post-relegation wage cut, Southampton sold well. Their estimated £81.m net income for the year was the 10th highest in world football.

Burnley were in the Championship in January, but still came 13th on the list with a net spend of £142m. The Clarets are yet to win a game in early season, but their spending is in stark contrast to that of the side automatically promoted with them last season – Sheffield United.

Over the last 10 years only Portugal, Brazil and the Netherlands brought in more than the Championship’s £1.2bn in transfers, whereas the Premier League had a net spend of £21.8bn – 32 per cent of the global market. Despite the Saudi spending it again had 32 per cent in 2023.

Sportswashing is a big factor with the Chinese league the fifth biggest global spender since 2014 and the Saudi Arabian Pro League eighth pretty much on the back of this year alone. Russia was ninth.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar's regimes are widely recognised as owning some Premier League clubs and having stakes in others, despite in Newcastle's case telling its governing body otherwise.