Leeds’ place in the below table compiled by football finance expert Kieran Maguire sheds light on why the club found itself in dire straits during the early 2000s, after expending tens of millions on players, which at the time represented a sum in excess of the club’s earnings.
Maguire described the table as such: “Inflation (using revenue as a measure of changing purchasing power) adjusted record transfer spending per season.”
Here are the 20 teams to have spent the most on players in any given Premier League season since 1992/93, adjusted for 2024 inflation.
13. Liverpool: 2010/11
IN: £383.3m (Luis Suarez, Andy Carroll, Milan Jovanovic, Paul Konchesky, Raul Meireles, Jonjo Shelvey, Christian Poulsen) | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
14. Chelsea: 2011/12
IN: £365.1m (Raul Meireles, Juan Mata, Oriol Romeu, Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Patrick Bamford, Romelu Lukaku, Gary Cahill, Lucas Piazon) | Getty Images
15. Chelsea: 2018/19
IN: £357.1m (Christian Pulisic, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Jorginho) | Getty Images
16. Manchester United: 2001/02
IN: £356.0m (Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastian Veron, Roy Carroll, Laurent Blanc, Diego Forlan) | Getty Images
17. Manchester United: 2006/07
IN: £354.6m (Michael Carrick, Nani, Anderson) | Manchester United via Getty Imag
18. Blackburn Rovers: 1998/99
IN: £338.8m (Matt Jansen, Nathan Blake, Keith Gillespie, Ashley Ward, Sebastian Perez, Christian Dailly, Kevin Davies, Jason McAteer, Lee Carsley) | Getty Images