The days of players themselves negotiating a move or a new contract are seemingly long gone, with agents now as influential as ever when it comes to a transfer or contract renewal.
An ever-increasing amount of money is therefore diverted to agents and agencies each year, with players’ representatives entitled to a slice of the pie whenever a move is agreed or one of their stars agrees fresh terms at their club.
Unsurprisingly the most money spent on agents comes in the Premier League, with the 20 top-flight clubs splurging over £272.5million on agents between February 2, 2021 and January 31, 2022.
In the Championship the total figure was over £44m, according to figures published by the FA today. But how much did United spend, compared to Nottingham Forest, West Brom and the rest of their second-tier rivals?