Villa Park, the home of Aston Villa(Image: Newcastle United via Getty Image)

Only Chelsea made more payments to agents than Aston Villa over the past year.

Villa paid a total of £38.4m, an increase of £13.4m - the highest rise of any club - while Chelsea topped the list with a staggering £65.1m between February 2025 and February 2026.

The Blues were the highest spenders for the third successive year. During the same period, they also announced the biggest pre-tax loss in Premier League history, totalling £262m.

Chelsea’s spending dwarfed Villa’s, who spent around £70m on incoming transfers. This suggests that Unai Emery’s side incurred significant costs related to renegotiating player contracts and new professional registrations.

Between February 2, 2024, and February 3, 2025, Villa spent just over £25m on agent fees. This means that over the last two years, they have paid a combined total of £63.5m.

That figure is comparable to Manchester United’s spending over the same period, with the Red Devils paying around £64.8m. Only Chelsea and Manchester City spent more.

Overall, Premier League clubs paid a total of £460m to agents in the last...