Arsenal Lead Big Spenders as Palmeiras Crack Global Sales Elite

Arsenal have emerged as the most aggressive spenders in world football over the last ten transfer windows, burning through 362 million euros more than they recouped in player sales, according to the latest study released by the Football Observatory (CIES). The Premier League pacesetters’ outlay, tied to the 2025/26 campaign, dwarfs every other club’s negative balance this season and underlines the scale of investment required to sustain a title challenge.

Yet the Gunners’ splurge pales next to the longer-term deficits posted by two of their domestic rivals. Chelsea and Manchester United sit atop the five-year deficit table with net spends of 883 million euros and 859 million euros respectively, sums that have not translated into comparable on-field dominance. Liverpool, second only to Arsenal in the current-season shortfall at minus 244 million euros, occupy sixth place in the Premier League, raising questions about the correlation between heavy investment and immediate returns.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Monaco have recorded the largest positive balance of the current season, banking 148 million euros more than they have laid out. Extending the lens to the last five years, Portuguese giants Benfica lead the profit charts with a 346-million-euro surplus. Despite sinking 465 million euros into fresh talent, the Lisbon club generated roughly 811 million euros in sales, a model epitomised by the departures of Enzo Fernández to Chelsea for 121 million euros and Darwin Núñez to Liverpool for 85 million euros.

Benfica’s model is mirrored, on a smaller scale, by Lille (273 million euros profit), Ajax (270 million) and Salzburg (242 million), all of whom have refined the art of developing and flipping assets at peak value.

South America’s lone representative in the top-15 profit table is Palmeiras. The São Paulo outfit sit 14th globally after posting a 145-million-euro positive balance across the last ten transfer windows. Over the past five years the Brazilian side moved 371 million euros worth of talent while reinvesting 226 million euros, yielding a net gain driven by headline sales of Endrick (72 million euros to Real Madrid), Estêvão (61.5 million euros to Chelsea), Richard Ríos (27 million euros to Benfica) and Vitor Reis (30 million euros to Manchester City). Reinforcements such as Vitor Roque and Árias, each arriving for 25 million euros, illustrate Palmeiras’ willingness to recycle revenue back into the squad.

All figures cited by CIES include future add-ons and sell-on clauses, regardless of whether those contingencies have yet been triggered, offering a comprehensive snapshot of how clubs balance ambition against sustainability in the modern market.