English Premier League clubs pay out $160m in agent fees

The figures were released on Saturday by the league, who have compiled and made the figures public since the 2009/10 season.

The total spent by the 20 Premier League clubs was 96.67 million pounds in the year from October 1, 2012 until September 30 2013. They spent 77 million pounds in 2012.

London club Chelsea, who signed several new players including Demba Ba, Willian and Samuel Eto'o and brought in manager Jose Mourinho, paid 13.7 million pounds in agents' fees, almost double what they spent in 2012.

Manchester City were the second highest spenders, paying 11.18 million pounds, up from 10.54 million in the previous year.

Champions Manchester United spent 4.32 million pounds, while Crystal Palace spent the least out of all 20 sides with a total of 869,531 pounds.

(Reporting by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)