September 20 – Clubs from the Big 5 clubs are not only the biggest buyers of players (by value) but they are also the biggest sellers. Only nine clubs outside the big-5 league countries are in the top 50 positions for transfer incomes, according to data from the CIES Football Observatory.
Looking at income generated from the transfer of players since 2010, Liverpool have earned the most from player sales with €442 million, ahead of Valencia (€432 million) and Juventus (€415 million).
The fourth and fifth positions are held by Portuguese clubs Benfica and Porto (outside the Big-5 leagues). Portugal is often a route into Europe’s big leagues for South American players.
The other clubs inside the top 50 who are not in the Big-5 leagues are Ajax (30th), Sporting Lisboa (33rd), Santos (42nd), PSV Eindhoven (45th), Dinamo Zagreb (47th), Shakhtar Donetsk (49th) and São Paulo (50th).
Not surprisingly Manchester City, who spent over €1 billion on players over the same time period are the worst traders, recouping €247 million from players sales (15th in the sales ranking) for a net loss of €777 million. But when it comes to big spenders Manchester United weren’t behind, with a net loss of €659 million. In comparison Arsenal and Spurs €279 million and €88 million in the red on player trading.
See the full ranking of 100 clubs at http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2016/157/en/
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