A lot has been made about how much Premier League teams spend in the transfer market.
Net spend has become ingrained in the minds of so many fans. But net spend alone can only tell you whether a club operates in profit or at a loss from transfer fees.
What it can’t tell you is how teams have used that net spend to inspire on-pitch success. Which is where Squawka’s Moneyball Index comes in.
We’ve looked over the past five seasons to see which teams are performing the best based on their transfer dealings.
To calculate our Moneyball Index, we ranked all 18 teams to have played in at least three of the past five Premier League seasons (including 2026/27) on:
- Net Spend
- Performance (Total points and trophy points)
We then calculated the difference between the Net Spend rank and Performance ranking to give us our Moneyball Index. A high positive score means a club has overperformed based on their net spend. A large negative score means the opposite. The closer a team is to zero, the more they are meeting expectations.
We also weighted trophies available to Premier League clubs based on their reputation and difficulties.
Transfer figures sourced from Transfermarkt. Points correct as of 24th September 2026.
Squawka Moneyball Index
| Position | Team | Moneyball Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Aston Villa | +11 |
| 2. | Brighton | +8 |
| 3. | Man City | +5 |
| 4. | Crystal Palace | +5 |
| 5. | Arsenal | +2 |
| 6. | Liverpool | +2 |
| 7. | Wolves | +1 |
| 8. | Newcastle | 0 |
| 9. | Brentford | 0 |
| 10. | Everton | 0 |
| 11. | West Ham | -2 |
| 12. | Man Utd | -3 |
| 13. | Chelsea | -3 |
| 14. | Fulham | -3 |
| 15. | Bournemouth | -3 |
| 16. | Leeds | -4 |
| 17. | Nottingham Forest | -7 |
| 18. | Tottenham | -9 |
18. Tottenham
- Moneyball Index: -9
It will likely come as no surprise to see Tottenham Hotspur bottom of this list. And it just adds to the doom of their current situation. The Europa League trophy in 2025 hasn’t been able to save Tottenham from bottom, who are now looking at the third-successive relegation battle. Tottenham rank first for their net spend across the past five seasons, with over €1.2billion spent and around €460m spent. But that’s only brought them 10th on our performance score. Spurs need to see success on the pitch very quickly.
17. Nottingham Forest
- Moneyball Index: -7
Nottingham Forest have spent big since returning to the Premier League, and their outgoings haven’t brought in as much money as others. As a result, they rank eighth for net spend over the past five seasons, at just under €350m. Although it has resulted in one European campaign, that still isn’t a good return on the money the Tricky Trees have spent. And they look more likely to fight relegation than compete for Europe long-term.
16. Leeds
- Moneyball Index: -4
Leeds United have battled with relegation and promotion over the past five seasons. And it’s hurt their Moneyball Index. Leeds did spend big in the summer of 2025, with not much going out, in their quest to stay in the Premier League for longer than a season. It worked, and Leeds had sold well in the Championship the year before. But they need a prolonged stay in the Premier League to make the money worth it.
15. Bournemouth
- Moneyball Index: -3
It might be a surprise to see Bournemouth down this low, especially as they’re enjoying their first ever European campaign. But the Cherries continue to be held back by the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons. There, Bournemouth spent over €200m on players, bringing in the likes of Illia Zabarnyi, Dango Ouattara, Milos Kerkez, Tyler Adams and Hamed Traore. In that same period, Bournemouth brought in just €1.5m, selling Ben Pearson to Stoke City. They have seen an improvement over the past year though.
14. Fulham
- Moneyball Index: -3
Fulham are an interesting case. They’re the second-lowest spenders in the Premier League across the past five seasons, at just over €400m. But they’re also the lowest in terms of income, bringing in €187m for players. That works out to about mid-table for net spend, but they’ve still underperformed slightly. The Cottagers’ best finish came in the 2022/23 Premier League season, when they were 10th.
13. Chelsea
- Moneyball Index: -3
Another poor season for Chelsea saw their Moneyball Index drop, with the on-pitch success just not matching the money spent. Chelsea have seen over €2bn leave their account over the past five seasons in the bid to refresh their squad, over €500m more than any other club. But they are also the only club to had received over €1bn in transfer fees (€1.3bn). So the Blues actually rank third for net spend. Although it has seen some success with the Conference League and Club World Cup won in 2024/25, it hasn’t been anywhere near good enough.
12. Man Utd
- Moneyball Index: -3
Manchester United are one of six Premier League clubs to have spent over €1bn across the past five seasons. The most recent window actually saw Man Utd tighten the purse strings a little, only spending €173m. But Man Utd haven’t been selling well. Only four teams have received less in transfer fees than Man Utd, meaning they rank second for net spend (€782m). And it hasn’t resulted in a consistent performance. The Red Devils have finished in the top four in just two of the past five seasons — in 2022/23 and then 2025/26. That’s underwhelming. Even their two trophies haven’t been enough to mask the failures.
11. West Ham
- Moneyball Index: -2
West Ham United‘s Uefa Conference League success in 2022/23 is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. But it shouldn’t take away from West Ham’s failures on the pitch. After all, they are now in the Championship. Of the Premier League regulars across the past five seasons, West Ham rank 12th for their net spend. The Hammers have spent just over €740m across the past five seasons, while bringing in around €600m. The last two windows have inflated the outgoings with players leaving the Championship-bound Hammers. West Ham were slightly more shrewd in the summer window but will be hoping that can help then gain an immediate return to the Premier League.
10. Everton
- Moneyball Index: 0
Everton are one of three teams who are performing as you’d expect based on their net spend. Not that it’ll be happy reading for Everton fans. The Toffees have received slightly more money than they have spent in the past five seasons, with €406m going out and €412m coming in. The difference was made over the summer, with Iliman Ndiaye’s departure contributing to the €128m they received. But Everton remain average on the pitch, neither inspiring nor looking overly bad.
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9. Brentford
- Moneyball Index: 0
Brentford always get a lot of praise for their work in the transfer market in relation to their performances on the pitch. But they aren’t really overachieving. In fact, they’re performing as they should. The Bees have spent just over €450m across the past five seasons, all of which have been in the Premier League. And they’ve brought around €260m in transfer fees. That includes the €75m for Bryan Mbeumo and €57.7m for Yoane Wissa last summer. Not to mention the fees received for Ivan Toney and David Raya. Brentford had a slow start to life in the Premier League but things have started to show on the pitch.
8. Newcastle
- Moneyball Index: 0
Newcastle United have had some big outgoings recently, but they have still managed to spend more than they have received. Despite seeing Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon’s sales contribute to over €275m received in the summer, the Magpies saw €313m go the other way. They brought in the likes of Matias Fernandez-Pardo, Nico Gonzalez and Bazoumana Toure — all for at least €50m each. Now, Newcastle have won a cup in the past five seasons, and qualified for the Champions League. But that’s about par for the course. They’ll want to be higher up this list.
7. Wolves
- Moneyball Index: +1
Wolverhampton Wanderers have slightly out-performed their expectations based on net spend. But the bar was so low, that they were able to do it while getting relegated to the Championship. It was actually impressive that Wolves lasted as long as they did, with the January 2026 transfer window tipping their net spend to a negative. They’ve received more than they have spent, by the biggest margin of any Premier League regular across this five-season period. Wolves didn’t spend much in the summer of 2026, though, and are looking to return to the Premier League on a budget.
6. Liverpool
- Moneyball Index: +2
Now, this five-year period doesn’t include Liverpool‘s sale of Philippe Coutinho — no matter how far the Reds seemed to be stretching that money. The Reds have been the fifth-highest spenders in the Premier League across the past five seasons, and there have been some big arrivals. Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola to name but a few from the past two seasons. But Liverpool also have the sixth-highest income over the past five seasons, including getting €30m+ for both Jarell Quansah and Curtis Jones. The Reds have seen that translate to success on the pitch. They’ve, of course, won the league and have been generally consistent in the top flight alongside a handful of domestic trophies.
5. Arsenal
- Moneyball Index: +2
Last season Arsenal finally ended their wait for the Premier League title — and their first trophy for a while. It has given them a big boost in the Moneyball Index, adding to their general consistency across this five-year period. The Gunners rank fourth in the Premier League for net spend, being the lowest of the Big Six clubs in terms of outgoing (€1.05bn) and bringing in €325m. The summer of 2026 finally saw Arsenal sell well, including Gabriel Martinelli’s €70m departure.
4. Crystal Palace
- Moneyball Index: +5
Moving onto the really big overperformers, Crystal Palace have defied expectations in recent seasons. They won the FA Cup in 2025 and were then crowned Conference League champions in 2026 — the first two trophies in their history. That’s what matters to the fans, not where they place on this list. But they deserve even more plaudits for achieving what they have, with their resources. Palace have received more than they have spent in two of the past five seasons, including this summer with €129m coming in and “only” €85m going out.
3. Man City
- Moneyball Index: +5
Manchester City have been the most successful Premier League team of the past five seasons. They’ve won the league title three times as well as the Champions League, Club World Cup and a few other domestic trophies. The Citizens have a pretty healthy gap over every other team in that regard. And their finances have been interesting too. Man City have spent the second-most across the past five seasons, hitting almost €1.5bn — including €500m in the last window alone. But in that same time, Man City have received hefty fees for Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Ferran Torres and Julian Alvarez to name just a few. It ranks them second for income in the Premier League — and sixth for total net spend.
2. Brighton
- Moneyball Index: +10
It won’t be a surprise to see Brighton and Hove Albion so high up this Index. The Seagulls are widely regarded as one of the best clubs in the Premier League for their transfer business. And this five-season period includes the signings and sales of the likes of Marc Cucurella and Joao Pedro, as well as the big-money sale of Moises Caicedo — who had been signed before the period. But they have also spent big for themselves. Nevertheless, Brighton still have a net spend of -€12.09m, one of three teams to be in the negative. And yet they’ve still managed to be a success on the pitch. Again, it’s about Brighton’s consistency across the campaigns, becoming an established Premier League team despite being a stepping stone of a club.
1. Aston Villa
- Moneyball Index: +11
Aston Villa have been an interesting case over the past five seasons. They’ve spent over €800m, but have spread it across many players. And it’s still only the eighth-most of any Premier League side on this list. Those incomings have included the signings of Diego Carlos, Jhon Duran, Emiliano Buendia and Moussa Diaby among others. But the Villans also sit third for transfer fees received, at just over €525m. Diaby and Duran have both been sold for profits, with Villa receiving almost €50m more for the latter than they paid to sign him. Those profits pale in comparison to Morgan Rogers, though, who Aston Villa bought for €33m and sold for €138m within just over two years. They’ve done all of this while being consistent in the league, hitting 60+ points in each of the past four full seasons. And they’ve won the Europa League.
