According to the CIES Football Observatory, the Whites are 19th among the top 20 clubs with the largest net loss in transfer spending in 2023, slightly ahead of Serie A heavyweights AC Milan.
Following their relegation from the Premier League this summer, they have the highest negative number of any second-tier club in the world and are the only non-top flight club on the list, which contrasts sharply with the chaos at Elland Road since the turn of the year, as they find themselves in a top 20 led by Chelsea with a -€557million balance [£477.6m] after breaking the British record twice amid unprecedented spending.
Leeds’ net loss of €56 million [£48 million] comes after a pair of transfer windows in which £35.5 million record-signing Georginio Rutter [Sky Sports, 15 January] and £11 million Max Wober [Sky Sports, 3 January] were signed but did not prevent the club from dropping out of the top flight, and an exodus this summer that proved anything but profitable.
Following relegation, it was anticipated that sales would result in an inflow of cash, but it was later revealed that a substantial number of Leeds United first-team players had release clauses in their contracts that allowed them to depart on loan for, at most, little returns.
Wober has already taken advantage of the terms, joining Robin Koch and Jack Harrison on loan, as well as a slew of last year’s recruits in Marc Roca, Brenden Aaronson, Rasmus Kristensen, and Luis Sinisterra.
Rodrigo was also sold for a small fee as a result of the drop into the second tier, while Tyler Adams went to Bournemouth for a few million over his £20m release clause amid a legal dispute [The Athletic, 20 August], a situation that was followed by Sinisterra’s loan-to-buy exit to the same destination amid the threat of a similar argument.
With Daniel Farke forced to field incomplete substitute benches despite naming several goalkeepers in the early weeks of the season, it was evident that the roster needed to be restocked, which has been accomplished through a combination of purchases, loans, and free transfers.
Joel Piroe cost at least £10m from Swansea in a deal that could end up costing £16m [The Athletic, 25 August], while Ethan Ampadu arrived from Chelsea for £7m [Yorkshire Evening Post, 17 July], Glen Kamara arrived from Rangers for £6m [Daily Mail, 31 August], and Ilia Gruev arrived from Werder Bremen for £5m [Yorkshire Evening Post, 31 August].
Victor Orta’s legacy at Elland Road may include the recruitment of Marcelo Bielsa and the signing of Raphinha, but after leaving in May amid the turbulence of the relegation season, his more recent moves appear to have just added to the club’s debt.
Some of the loan departures may be sold in a year to even out the numbers, but given that they couldn’t keep the club in the top flight in the first place, they must be considered unsuccessful signings, and the easy escape routes threatened to undercut Farke before he had even begun to mount a promotion push.
While fellow relegated clubs Southampton and Leicester City made large money selling players like Romeo Lavia, James Ward-Prowse, Harvey Barnes, and James Maddison, the Saints and the Foxes did not.
In comparison, we had very little and had to work on a smaller budget to strengthen as a result.
And their position on the list in the CIES report is exceptional, given that every other team is still in the high-spending Premier League or Saudi Pro League, or is named Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain, with Ligue 1’s Marseille filling in the gaps.
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