Premier League clubs spend record £130m on agents fees

David De Gea's agent Jorge Mendes (Getty Images)

The 20 clubs in the Premier League spent nearly £130million on agents last year, a rise of £15m from the previous year.

Liverpool spent more than any other club from the period 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2015, handing out a whopping £14,301,464 on agents fees.

Manchester United (£13,881,814) and Manchester City (£12,429,380) with total spending for the Premier League at £129,857,560.

Five clubs spent more than £10m on agents fees, with Chelsea (£11,961,206) slightly ahead of Arsenal (£11,928,584).

The total spent in the Championship was £26.1million, £3.2million in League One and just £1million in League Two, while the smallest amount in the Premier League was the £1,620,229 spent by newcomers Watford.

Fees are not just paid to agents when transfers happen, but also when players sign new contracts.

During the period in question, there were 172 inbound transfers and loans in the Premier League, 542 new or improved contracts and 573 outbound transfers and loans - a total of 1,287 transactions, all of which could have led to an agent's fee being paid.

The biggest payers in the Championship were Cardiff (£2.8m), Fulham (£2.7m), QPR and Reading (both £2.3m).

Further down the pyramid, League One club Bury and League Two's Accrington Stanley Hartlepool did not pay anything at all in to agents.

Additional reporting from PA

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Premier League Club Payments to Agents

The below table shows the payments made by each Premier League club to agents in the period from the 1st October 2014 to the 30th September 2015

The amounts shown include payments made by clubs on behalf of players

Total £129,857,560

AFC Bournemouth £2,328,862

Arsenal £11,928,584

Aston Villa £4,986,058

Chelsea £11,961,206

Crystal Palace £4,719,931

Everton £4,479,432

Leicester City £4,057,727

Liverpool £14,301,464

Manchester City £12,429,380

Manchester United £13,881,814

Newcastle United £5,946,031

Norwich City £2,484,285

Southampton £5,391,172

Stoke City £5,308,545

Sunderland £3,404,540

Swansea City £4,250,030

Tottenham Hotspur £5,987,052

Watford £1,620,229

West Bromwich Albion £3,342,217

West Ham United £7,049,001