Source: Daily_Mail
Chelsea splash millions on agents despite signing just four players
Chelsea paid agents almost half as much as they spent on players in the last year.[LNB]The £9.5million they shelled out to football's middle men comes despite having fairly modest dealings in the transfer market.[LNB]Every Barclays Premier League club has been forced to reveal the level of payments they made to agents between October 2008 and September 2009.[LNB] Star signing: Chelsea's Yuri Zhirkov (left) in action for Russia[LNB]Fees paid to agents (Oct 2008-Sep 2009)As % of transfer spendingChelsea£9,562,22349%Bolton Wanderers£3,166,61131%Fulham£1,469,25826.7%Wigan Athletic£5,527,54822.8%Portsmouth£3,184,72521.1%Arsenal£4,760,24118.1%Liverpool£6,657,30517.8%West Ham United£3,576,97216.5%Blackburn Rovers£1,610,88510.7%Everton£2,008,40710%Hull City£1,599,1888.5%TottenhamlHotspurmm£6,066,9358.2%Manchester City£12,874,2837.6%Burnley£468,3987%Wolverhampton£1,235,7036.7%Sunderland£2,007,0406.6%Birmingham City£974,9824.9%Manchester United£1,517,3934%Aston Villa£1,708,3743.9%Stoke City£716,0423%(Source: The Sun)[LNB]In that period, Chelsea brought in four players: Yuri Zhirkov from CSKA Moscow, Daniel Sturridge from Manchester City, free agent Ross Turnbull and 17-year-old Gokhan Tore from Bayer Leverkusen.[LNB]Zhirkov's £18million move from Russia was the stand-out signing, though the Russia winger dispensed with his agent before signing on at Stamford Bridge.[LNB]The £9.5m also reflects re-negotiating extended contracts, with Chelsea goin through a busy period of offering players new deals with a FIFA transfer ban looming.[LNB]Only Manchester City spent more on agents, though they did shell out more than £170m on players during that time period. Agent fees compared to player signings was 7.6 per cent in this case, compared to Chelsea's 49 per cent.[LNB]Manchester United's £1.5m outlay to agents was 4 per cent of the figure spent on players.[LNB] Big spenders: Manchester City splashed out on Gareth Barry, Stephen Ireland, Roque Santa Cruz and Carlos Tevez, among others[LNB] Hughes defends £13m City splashed out on agents in spending frenzyGravy train: Big spenders are City and Chelsea as clubs pay £70m to agentsPremier League reveal they paid a staggering £70.7m in agents fees last season - So how much did your club spend?Is Tony Blair's son going to be a football agent? Club-by-club guide to every summer deal in the Premier LeagueClub-by-club guide to every summer deal in the Premier League[LNB] Explore more:People:Carlos Tevez, Yuri Zhirkov, Daniel Sturridge, Roque Santa Cruz, Ross TurnbullPlaces:Liverpool, Russia, Premier League club
