December 12 – French Ligue1 side LOSC Lille have the highest positive player trading balance in the world, at +€384m, according to a ranking of the monetary balance of transfer transactions covering non-academy players signed since 2015. PSG have the worst trading record.
Lille’s figures are aided by the high-profile sales of Victor Osimhen (€77.5 million) and Nicolas Pepe (€80 million) to Napoli and Arsenal respectively, with little spending to improve the squad, instead integrating players into their first team by cheaper means such as their academy and clever scouting.
Ajax (+€289 million) sit second in the ranking. Known as a top-tier selling club, the Dutch side also have a remarkable academy meaning they rarely are forced to spend big bucks on incomings.
RB Leipzig (+€288 million) place third, having sold important players such as Josko Gvardiol (€90 million), Dominik Szoboszlai (€70 million) and Timo Werner (€53 million) in recent seasons. They have reinvested cleverly during that time, although are currently enduring a tough patch represented by a poor UCL campaign thus far.
Eintracht Frankfurt are joined by Atalanta in fourth and fifth position. Coincidentally, both sides have won the UEFA Europa League in the past three seasons.
Brighton is the Premier League’s top-ranked team, bankrolled by Moises Caicedo’s €116 million transfer to Chelsea in 2023. Despite being a top seller, the club saved its large-scale reinvestment until recently, where they were the second-highest spenders in Europe this summer.
At the other end of the spectrum sit Paris Saint Germain with a negative balance of -€646m are the worst traders. Never shy to spend a penny or two in the market, the French Champions were impacted by the €180 million transfer of Kylian Mbappe and €222 million Neymar in particular, losing every penny spent on Mbappe after he left on a free this summer.
Manchester United (-€584 million) place second, having spent €830 million to improve the squad since 2015, with not much to show for it. Similar to PSG, the then-world-record €100 million spent on Paul Pogba was thrown away after the player departed for Juventus for free, in a move that has somehow left United looking better off.
Chelsea (-€580 million) unsurprisingly place third, equipped with the most expensively-assembled squad in the history of the sport, but they also made large player sales such as Eden Hazard (€120 million) and Kai Havertz (€75 million) to ease FFP pressure.
FC Barcelona, despite being recently tied down by financial troubles, were La Liga’s biggest net spenders at €368 mllion. The Blaugrana spent big between 2015-2021, welcoming the likes of Antonine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and Coutinho for a combined €390 million and were sold for a fraction of that amount (€92 million) after ultimately failing at the Nou Camp.
To see the full ranking, click here.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734024417labto1734024417ofdlr1734024417owedi1734024417sni@g1734024417niwe.1734024417yrrah1734024417