Manchester United have spent more in the transfer market per trophy than any other Premier League giant over the past 10 years as Liverpool’s silverware haul proves better value for money

Manchester United have an eye-watering net spend of £282.5m for every trophy won in the past decade, with rivals Liverpool.

That is according to data from Transfermarkt, which says United have had a net spend of £1.13bn in the transfer market since 2013-14.

And while Chelsea have had the biggest expenditure of any Premier League club, breaking the £2bn barrier, they have won twice the number of major trophies than United and are also the only club to have earned more than £1bn in sales.

Arsenal have had the next biggest net spend per trophy of £213m, followed by Chelsea on a far more modest £108m – although their spending has skyrocketed under their new American owners, with Sunday’s Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool at Wembley ensuring they must wait for a first trophy of the post-Roman Abramovich era.

City have won 16 pieces of silverware and are fourth on the net spend list with a cost of £57.4m, while Liverpool have won fewer than half that number of trophies but at a net spend of £55.2m. Jurgen Klopp’s side has had the lowest level of expenditure among the Premier League’s big five.

The other member of the Premier League’s historical big six, Tottenham Hotspur, have not won a trophy in the past decade but they have a net spend of £473m, which is less than nouveau riche Newcastle United’s £500m net investment.

The only other English sides to have won a major trophy in the past 10 years are Leicester City and West Ham United. The 2021 FA Cup winners and 2015-16 Premier League victors, currently leading the Championship having been relegated last year, have a net spend of £112.8m – working out at £56.4m per trophy.

West Ham, meanwhile, have a net spend of £420.5m (the eighth highest among all English clubs) and last season ended a 43-year wait for a trophy when they won the Europa Conference League.

Of the 34 clubs to have played in the Premier League since 2013-14, only QPR, Norwich and Swansea have made net profits in the transfer market. But all three are currently in the Championship while Rangers have since found themselves in financial trouble.