List of most money spent in a single Premier League season when adjusted for inflation is fascinating

A list of the highest spenders in a single Premier League season has been unveiled and it’s fascinating.

This week Arsenal’s spending has turned a few heads. Last year’s Premier League runners-up completed a £65million deal to sign Kai Havertz and agreed a £105million transfer fee for West Ham captain Declan Rice.

The Gunners are also thought to be in advanced talks to sign Ajax’s 22-year-old defender Jurrien Timber in a deal that would reportedly cost some £40milllion.

While Mikel Arteta’s side have shown a willingness to spend this window, they still have some distance to go to be classed as the highest Premier League spenders in a single season.

Highest Premier League spenders in a single campaign

Football finance experts Kieran Maguire and Jason Laws have calculated the highest spenders in a Premier League season when factoring in inflation and it’s interesting...

Chelsea occupy the top four spots. Indeed, the Blues’ 2003-04 season - a campaign where they finished trophyless - is the most expensive single campaign in history.

Roman Abramovich signed 11 players, including Hernan Crespo, Damien Duff, Juan Sebastián Verón, Claude Makéléle and Joe Cole, for some £692million in today’s money.

Unsurprisingly, Chelsea’s first full season under the ownership of Todd Boehly saw the second-highest spend in Premier League history. The club spent £541million, only to finish 12th and without any silverware.

Chelsea’s 2005/06 season (£430million) and 2004/05 campaign (£394million) occupy the third and fourth spots. Across those two years, the Blues signed club legends Petr Cech, Didier Drogba and Michael Essien and claimed back-to-back Premier League titles and a League Cup.

Next up on the list is Manchester City, who have spent a fortune since Sheikh Mansour and the City Football Group’s takeover in September 2008. In the 2010/11 season, City spent some £371million on the likes of Edin Dzeko, Yaya Touré, Mario Balotelli and David Silva.

The campaign saw the club claim the FA Cup - their first silverware of the Sheikh Mansour era - while a number of the signings went on to establish themselves as club legends.

City’s 2009/10 campaign and 2008/09 season, where the club spent £369million in consecutive seasons, occupy the sixth and seventh positions.

Meanwhile, the Citizen’s 2017/18 season, where the club spent big on Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva, is the eighth highest spend in a single Premier League season.

That year, Pep Guardiola’s side spent £350million, claimed the League Cup and won the Premier League with a record 100 points.

Surprisingly, Newcastle’s 98/99 campaign, in which the Magpies finished 13th in the Premier League but reached the FA Cup final, is the ninth most expensive season in the league’s history.

The club bought Duncan Ferguson, Dietmar Hamann, Silvio Maric and Nolberto Solano - the entire season costing a massive £347million in today’s money.

Chelsea, again, feature on the list, with their 2017 /18 season the tenth most expensive in history.

Another notable inclusion is Liverpool’s 2010/11 season which cost £294million - the 12th most expensive campaign in Premier League history. The club brought in the likes of Christian Poulsen and Joe Cole for relatively big fees in the summer window, before signing both Andy Caroll and Luis Suarez on January’s deadline day.

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Football, Transfers, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Manchester City

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.