The Top 15 Highest Spending Clubs Of The Last Decade Have Been Revealed

Manchester City have topped the list of clubs who spent the most on incoming transfers in world football between 2011 and 2020.

In the previous decade, City went from top four contenders to five time Premier League champions and Champions League contenders, reaching their first final back in May.

Whilst much of the recent success can be put down to Pep Guardiola's brilliant management, there is no doubting that City have spent big to turnaround their fortunes since they were bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group back in 2008.

The current English champions spent more money than any other club in those 10 years, according to FIFA's official report on transfers from 2011-2020.

Behind City, Chelsea, Barcelona, PSG and Real Madrid make up the top five, but it's England that dominates the top 15, with six entries.

The clubs with the highest transfer fees paid. Image: FIFA.com

FIFA's report unfortunately doesn't give any figures to how much City spent in the time but it does show they brought many more players into the team than most of their rivals on the list.

Perhaps the most surprising clu in the top 10 would be Atletico Madrid, considering that they're often seen as the antithesis of their La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Barca.

Instead the Spanish champions are just one place below Los Blancos and actually ahead of Manchester United, Arsenal and Juventus.

Unlike some of those clubs though, Atleti are in the top five for the clubs who have made the most out of outgoing transfers in the same time.

Portuguese pair Sporting and Benfica top that particular list, with Barcelona shockingly third, considering their well documented financial problems, and Chelsea just behind them.

Clubs who have spent the most on outgoing transfers. Image: FIFA.com

Overall though, the difference between how much a club has spent and received on transfers is the most telling, with the likes of Barca, Atleti and City not in the top 30.

Instead it's both Sporting and Benfica who again top that chart, with the two rivals showing how incredible their ability to make profits on transfers is.

The clubs with the best net spend. Image: FIFA.com

That Arsenal fan might have been right about it all being about net spend, but his club aren't that successful at it any way...

Topics: Football, Transfers, Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Barcelona, La Liga, Premier League, Chelsea

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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