The Premier League has grown in wealth and levels of investment drastically in recent years as owners splash out millions to stake their claim in the dizzying heights of the Premier League.
Local tycoons and foreign investors have reshaped the landscape of English football, with the likes of Chelsea – under Roman Abramovich – and more recently Manchester City, enjoying great success on the back of massive injections of cash.
Top Premier League Teams Investment Levels Ranked
In figures published by the Athletic, each of the 20 clubs have been ranked in terms of investment levels under their football ownership.
It will come as no surprise that Chelsea and Manchester City top the list, with another Premier League heavyweight in Arsenal rounding out the top three.
Manchester United are behind two surprising teams in sixth. While Newcastle United – one of the richest clubs in world football – are in eighth.
Liverpool might top the Premier League table, but they don’t even make the top half in this one. While Tottenham are left languishing well behind their rivals towards the bottom of the standings.
How Much The ‘Big Six’ Premier League Owners Have Invested
1. Chelsea (BlueCo) – £2.65bn
No Premier League owners have piled more money into a club than the ones at Chelsea, despite the club only being bought out two years ago.
The sale become a necessity when the UK government sanctioned former owner Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with BlueCo – an American consortium. Buying the club for £2.bn.
BlueCo primarily comprises United States businessman Todd Boelhy and the private equity firm Clearlake Capital, and a further £146m has been injected in an attempt to get the club back into contention to win the top trophies.
2. Man City (City Football Group) – £1.5bn
Sheikh Mansour’s high-profile purchase of Man City for £200m in 2008 changed the football landscape with the club who were in the third tier less than a decade before – since going on to win eight league titles and the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
In six consecutive years between 2009 and 2014, cash injections of more than £150m were put in place, taking the total spend beyond the £1bn mark.
It is alleged that City have breached the Premier League’s spending rules on 115 occasions. Something which they strenuously deny with a verdict not expected until 2025.
3. Arsenal (Kroenke Sports and Entertainment) – £1.26bn
American Stan Kroenke started investing in Arsenal back in 2007, building up a majority ownership over the Gunners by 2011 and then spending £550m to buy a 30% stake from Alisher Usmanov in 2018.
The precise amount paid for all of the shares is unclear though it’s likely – given the cost of his purchase from Usmanov – that Kroenke invested at least £1bn.
The rest of the figure has come in the form of shareholders loans, which stood at £259m by the end of the 2022-23 season. The owner of the NFL side Los Angeles Rams helped to build an Arsenal side that has challenged for the title over the past two seasons.
6. Manchester United (Glazer family) – £845m
The Red Devils come sixth in the list behind Fulham and Everton, though the £845m figure is one that is not celebrated given the Glazer family will have been in control of the club for two decades next year.
Despite an original £800m sale, the Athletic report that £815m has been paid in interest servicing the debt that came with the Glazer takeover.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS paid £1.25bn for a 27.7% stake, while they also injected £158m. The first owner-funded investment since the 2012-13 season.
Football Finance Expert Kieran Maguire, says that brings total owner funding to £477m. This included the £249m received when the club was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012.
However, with dividends paid over the Glazers’ tenure standing at £432m. The net ownership funding commitment stands at just £45 over 19 years.
11. Liverpool (Fenway Sports Group) – £436m
The Reds come 11th in the list behind Aston Villa, Newcastle, Brighton and Leicester.
Fenway Sports Group spent £300m to buy the club from fellow Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Who had a disastrous stint at the head of the Anfield club who were in deep financial danger.
After early investment to go with the reconstruction of Anfield’s Main Stand, no owner funding has been recorded since the 2015-16 season with money paid back to reduce the amounts owed to FSG between 2017 and 2020.
16. Tottenham (ENIC) – 2001
ENIC, owned by the family trust of billionaire Joe Lewis and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy – bought out Sir Alan Sugar in two separate deals, the first for £22m in 2001 and the second for £25m five years later.
Subsequent additions have seen their 43% shareholding go up to 86.58%. Though a precise number is not known, it is expected that the owners will have paid around £94m in total in terms of takeover.
Tottenham fans have been often vocal against their level of investment compared to other ‘big six’ clubs. With only a further £100m invested into the club since the arrival of ENIC.
Out of the current Premier League clubs, only the owners of Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Ipswich have invested less.
Premier League Full Investment List
- 1 – Chelsea (BlueCo) – £2.65bn
- 2- Manchester City (City Football Group) – £1.5bn
- 3 – Arsenal (Kroenke Sports and Entertainment) – £1.26bn
- 4- Fulham (Shahid Khan) – £938m
- 5 – Everton (Farhad Moshiri) – £878m
- 6 – Manchester United (Glazer family) – £845m
- 7 – Aston Villa (V Sports) – £582m
- 8 – Newcastle United (Public Investments Fund) – £566m
- 9 – Brighton (Tony Bloom) – £512m
- 10 – Leicester (King Power International) – £484m
- 11 – Liverpool (Fenway Sports Group) – £436m
- 12 – Crystal Palace (CPFC 2010) – £278m
- 13 – Wolves (Fosun International) – £243m
- 14 – Bournemouth (Black Knight Football) – £213m
- 15 – West Ham United (David Sullivan, Daniel Kretinsky and the Gold family) – £206m
- 16 – Tottenham (ENIC) – £194m
- 17 – Southampton (Sport Republic) – £185m
- 18 – Nottingham Forest (Evangelos Marinakis) – £162m
- 19 – Brentford (Matthew Benham) – £124m
- 20 – Ipswich Town (Gamechanger 20) – £123m
Note: All info on this page a guide and correct from 18th Nov 2024 and subject to change.
