Leeds United have invested heavily in Daniel Farke's squad following Championship promotion.
Leeds United paid out almost £14million to various agents over the course of their two transfer windows back in the Premier League.
Owners 49ers Enterprises have invested heavily in the playing squad since promotion was achieved in April of last year. They spent roughly £100million on eight new first-team players while also snapping up free agent strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Luks Nmecha.
Eight-figure fees were committed to the likes of Anton Stach, Noah Okafor and Jaka Bijol who have all made significant contributions to the season so far. Leeds were also active in January, signing Facundo Buonanotte on loan from Brighton for the remainder of the campaign.
Premier League and EFL clubs are required to provide information on money paid to various agents involved in such business, which the FA has published in a recent report. According to that report, Leeds forked out a total £13,990,935 in the 12 months between February 4, 2025 and February 2, 2026.
That is approximately three per cent of the whopping £460,300,308 paid to agents by all Premier League teams during that period, with Leeds the 14th biggest spenders. Somewhat predictably, Chelsea are way out in front having stumped up a whopping £65,102,247.
The second biggest spenders, Manchester City, are a long way back having spent £37,358,301 on agent fees. The Etihad club, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester United have all surpassed the £30m mark over the past year.
Leeds United agent spend vs newly-promoted rivals
Of the three newly-promoted clubs, Leeds are the highest spenders when it comes to agent fees at almost £14m. Sunderland paid out just over £10m while Burnley’s total came out as just £7.3m The Clarets were the lowest spenders across the Premier League, with Everton second lowest on just under £10m.
The FA also publishes details of each individual transaction, albeit without ever revealing the amount. Information on certain players and the reason for fees being paid are all laid out in a separate document, with fees also paid to agents for sales, contract renewals or amendments and scholarship agreements.
Read More
The document reveals Leeds paid three separate intermediaries as part of the £18m deal to sign Swiss winger Okafor from AC Milan. Two individuals were paid in connection with the registration of Calvert-Lewin, who was unattached at the time, while Buonanotte’s loan from Brighton also required two payments. All other signings required just one agent payment.
Leeds also paid agents for some key academy-level contract updates including those of Sam Chambers, Rory Mahady, Josh McDonald. Daniel James also signed a new deal in July with a payment sent to his intermediary.
Agents fees do contribute towards Profitability and Sustainability losses, albeit payments made over the past 12 months will go into the 2025/26 accounts which come out next year. Leeds announced on Wednesday night they had booked a pre-tax loss of £49.2m for the 2024/25 period.
Continue Reading