Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has now surpassed Sir Alex Ferguson in terms of money spent during their tenure as Premier League managers.
Both Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have joined the German on Merseyside this summer and have, subsequently, increased his overall spend since joining the league back in 2015.
Klopp’s summer spending is not expected to wilt either as they search high and low for a worthy replacement for Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, both of whom have made big-money moves to Saudi Arabia.
Southampton’s Romeo Lavia seems to be the club’s top priority before the window slams shut on September 1.
Though, Sky Sports report Southampton are holding out for a £50m bid and, therefore, have rejected the Reds’ improved offer of £40m.
Regardless of extra incomings, however, Klopp has now moved ahead of Ferguson in terms of expenditure during their respective times as managers.
Should the former Borussia Dortmund boss fork out more this summer, he will retain his fourth spot ranking given he has a long way to reach the spend of the manager in third.
But, according to Daily Mirror, there are three managers above Klopp in terms of all-time spend. Who else makes the rest of list?
The top 10 highest-spending Premier League managers
10. Eddie Howe (Bournemouth/Newcastle) – £481.7m
The English manager spent a moderate amount at seaside club Bournemouth, though his record as manager would make you think he spent much, much more.
Now, with the riches of Saudi Arabia in his capable hands, it would be no surprise to see him rise quickly up this table.
As such, all six of his most expensive coups of his managerial career have been made since he joined Newcastle, with Aleksandar Isak’s club-record £63m fee his most lucrative so far.
9. Antonio Conte (Chelsea/Tottenham) – £511.2m
The Italian spent less than four seasons in the Premier League, but his endless spending means he’s secured himself a ninth-spot finish.
During his two spells in the capital, he bought a total of 21 players, which accumulated to a spend of £511.2m.
Paying £60m for Alvaro Morata was Conte’s biggest signing (and mistake?) and even set a then club-record for the Blues.
8.Mark Hughes (5 PL clubs) – £513.5m
Mark Hughes was at the helm of five separate Premier League clubs, though most notably it was City that he took charge of.
The Welshman, who spent most of his playing career at City’s rivals Manchester United, enjoyed the beginning of the club’s financially superior area and forked out £32.5m for Brazil superstar Robinho to become their record signing.
Hughes also spent time managing Blackburn, Fulham, QPR, Stoke and Southampton and spent a grand total £513.5m on players across a 14-year period.
7. Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City/West Ham) – £526.5m
Another big-spender on the list is Manuel Pellegrini, who took charge of both City and West Ham in the top division, a division in which the Chilean signed 28 players.
In total, those players cost £526.5m with the ever-reliable Kevin de Bruyne his most expensive.
However, that spend now looks like peanuts, seeing as he has spearheaded City to ample success in his eight-year stay.
6. Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) – £570.4m
During his illustrious 26 years in charge at the 20-time English champions, the Scotsman spent around £570.4m and found himself at the top of the list upon his retirement in 2013.
Of course, times have changed and money spent in the modern era exceeds expenditure when the likes of Ferguson were managing.
Also, Ferguson’s spend was kept on the lower side thanks to his tendency to promote academy players to senior proceedings, notably the Class of 92.
5. Brendan Rodgers (Swansea/Liverpool/Leicester) – £591.6m
Having spent a hefty £591.6m during his managerial career in the Premier League, Brendan Rodgers creeps into the top five.
Surprisingly above Ferguson, but that just further highlights the extent of spending in the transfer season, which is only bound to get worse.
Christian Benteke, who the Northern Irish boss bought from Aston Villa, was his most expensive coup as the Belgian cost the club a whopping £32.5m.
4. Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) – £613m
Just ahead of the former Liverpool boss is the current man donning the title at the club, Jurgen Klopp.
He has signed just 26 players, which is significantly fewer than some of those on this list.
In terms of his biggest outlay, it cost a club-record £84m to prise Darwin Núñez away from Benfica last summer. The big money it took to secure the Uruguayan’s signature topped the £75m they paid for Virgil van Dijk five years prior.
Klopp has shelled out around £613m during his eight-year stint at the Merseyside-based outfit, but that figure is only destined to increase before he – eventually – moves on to pastures new.
3. Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) – £762.3m
Wenger finds himself placed higher than his infamous rival Ferguson, but that can be put down to having an extra five years at the helm of Arsenal once the latter has retired.
The Frenchman welcomed a staggering 84 players to north London during his 22 years in charge, though it was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang that Wenger spent the most on.
Mikel Arteta, especially this summer, has certainly followed in his footsteps and his £105 spend on Declan Rice attests to that.
2. Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) – £1.05b
Although currently 2nd on the list, Pep Guardiola is destined to clinch that top spot in the foreseeable future.
The Spaniard is only the second manager in the Premier League era to break the £1b barrier and has his record signing Jack Grealish to thank for that.
Setting a new British transfer record at the time, the Englishman joined from his boyhood club Aston Villa for £100m.
Next on Guardiola’s agenda is RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol, who is likely to up Guardiola’s spend even more.
Way out in front is Jose Mourinho, a manager who signed a total of 64 players during his managerial stints in the English top flight.
Being in charge of three of the top traditional six just means you become accustomed to spending money but – interestingly – four of his top five most exuberant spending came from his time at United.
Not only did he smash the club’s transfer record by picking up Paul Pogba, but he also spent wildly on Romelu Lukaku, Fred and Nemanja Matic.
Andriy Shevchenko is the only former Chelsea star in the Portuguese man’s top five big spends, despite his transfer being completed in 2006.
Just imagine Mourinho in charge of a financially-charged outfit like City or Newcastle.
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