Liverpool FC paid a league-high £43m to agents last year as Premier League clubs handed over £260m to middlemen

The Reds splashed out nearly £20m more than Chelsea, the second-biggest spenders

Liverpool FC forked out £43m in fees to agents last year, the highest in the Premier League, as the English top flight handed over a quarter of a billion pounds to intermediaries.

The Anfield club spent nearly £20m more than the next-biggest club, Chelsea, in securing the signings of Fabinho, Alisson Becker, Xherdan Shaqiri and Naby Keita.

Manchester City were third, unloading £24m, while crosstown rivals United were next on £20.7m.

Cardiff City came in bottom, spending just £2.8m during the year in which they were promoted to the Premier League.

The spending will come under the microscope as the Premier League looks to bring in new rules governing how agents are paid.

Club chiefs want to bring an end to the practice where agents can be paid by both clubs and the player involved, which they believe can create a conflict of interest.

Fifa, world football's governing body, is also looking at reform for intermediary payments but is focusing on a hybrid model that could set a cap for payments and/or implement a fixed percentage fee.

Full List

1. Liverpool - £43.8m
2. Chelsea - £26.9
3. Man City - £24.1m
4. Man United - £20.8m
5. Everton - £19.1m
6. West Ham - £14.4m
7. Leicester City - £12.7m
8. Arsenal - £11.2m
9. Tottenham - £11.1m
10. Watford - £10.9m
11. Bournemouth - £10.3m
12. Newcastle - £8.9m
13. Fulham - £8.2m*
14. Crystal Palace - £6.9m
15. Brighton - £6.9m
16. Wolves - £6.5m*
17. Southampton - £6.1m
18. Huddersfield - £5.0m
19. Burnley - £3.9m
20. Cardiff - £2.8m*

*denotes spent some of period in the Championship.