The biggest ever Premier League transfer spends adjusted for inflation

Premier League clubs set broke new ground during another record-breaking spend on transfers.

England’s top teams spent a combined £3.19bn on signings this summer, smashing the previous record for a single transfer window. Liverpool led the way, investing £416.3m on their title-winning squad, including twice breaking the British transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.

It was an incredible recruitment drive from the Reds, but how does it compare to the biggest ever spending sprees.

– Monday, 1 September 2025

Football finance journalist Kieran Maguire has calculated the most expensive Premier League transfer spends on all time, if all fees were adjusted for inflation.

Incredibly, Liverpool’s bonanza this summer ranks only 11th on the list for the Premier League era, though Arne Slot’s side could swell their total with further additions in January.

Chelsea dominate the list, with four of the top five inflation adjusted spending sprees belonging to the West Londoners.

Their 2003/04, the first season after Roman Abramovich’s takeover,  would have been the equivalent to investing £916.4m in today’s market. That summer saw Chelsea bring in names including Joe Cole, Hernan Crespo, Juan Sebastien Veron, Claude Makelele and Damien Duff.

West Bromwich Albion sit bottom of the list with an inflation adjusted spend of just £1m from their 2012/13 season.

All figures adjusted for 2025 inflation

*Liverpool still have 2026 January window to add to total*

Read – The best value transfers in the Premier League this summer

See more – Our Premier League summer transfer window awards for 2025

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