Revealed: Record-breaking £198m Liverpool outlay confirmed

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Liverpool Jurgen Klopp

Source: si.com

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and FSG have spent more on agents compared to other top Premier League teams, according to Football Insider analysis.

Liverpool spending on Football Agents

Since October 2015, Liverpool have spent £198m on intermediaries, and for every £1 given to agents, £3.36 was paid out in transfer fees, which is the highest ratio among the so-called Big Six clubs.

Manchester City is second on the list, with a ratio of £1 to £4.83. In contrast, Arsenal spent £1 on agents every time they spent £8.44 on new signings, Tottenham’s ratio was £1 to every £6.74, Chelsea’s ratio was £1 to every £6.74, and Manchester United’s ratio was £1 to every £5.74.

Off The Pitch’s report shows that Liverpool have paid the second-highest sum to intermediaries over the three-year period, from 2017 to 2020, with a sum that stands at £118.7m.

Liverpool tops the list of Premier League clubs for the percentage of fees paid to agents in relation to the total player sales and additions, with 15% heading to agents, five percent higher than Manchester United.

Between February 2020 and 2021, Liverpool handed over £21.65m to intermediaries, accounting for nearly 10% of the entire Premier League sum.

Liverpool’s EBIT figures would have increased from £172.4m to £292m had agent fees not been a factor.

In the previous two years, Liverpool spent more than all of their Premier League rivals on player agent fees, spending £43.8m in 2018 and £30m in 2019.

FIFA has recently introduced new regulations to lessen the influence of agents in clubs, with agents now limited to a maximum of 10% of any given transfer fee and a 3% commission on salaries.

Role of Agents in modern football

Although they may not be widely respected in the football community, according to Daniel Geey, author of ‘Done Deal’, they play a crucial role in modern football clubs.

Geey comments:

“Many agents do earn significant sums, but they are well rewarded partly because of the fragile and unpredictable nature of their job. The glamorous signing ceremony is only the tip of the player-management iceberg.
The primary role of a player’s agent may be to understand when, on the one hand, to aggressively push for a transfer or a new contract with the club and when, on the other hand, to be the diplomat if a player is having trouble settling in, struggling with management or not performing on the pitch.
An agent does their best work when managing and leveraging situations (both positive and negative) to a player’s advantage.

Top super agents of football

He continued:

Clubs need good agents for selling and buying players, and almost all clubs realise this. This means clubs cannot afford to burn bridges with some agents.

Agents understand who is in the market for a particular player and who can match up a player who is no longer needed at one club with an opportunity somewhere else.

Agents are unlikely to receive much sympathy from fans for the job they do, but in my experience they are very much a necessity for clubs and players alike, and many provide a skill set necessary to get a deal over the line.”

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