Premier League clubs have paid out more than £260m to football agents during 2018-19 - an increase of £49m on the previous 12 months.

Liverpool were the highest spending club in the top flight, paying £43m to agents between 1 February 2018 and 31 January 2019.

Chelsea (£26m) and Manchester City (£24m) were the next biggest spenders.

Championship clubs spent more than £50m while Sunderland accounted for more than 50% of League One's £5.5m outlay.

Fees to agents went up despite spending on transfers falling by more than £500m when compared with the previous season.

The Football Supporters' Federation said that fans will find the spending "shocking" and called for even more transparency in how the money was spent.

A spokesman said: "Many will find the volume of money going out of the game shocking - particularly at a time when many lower league clubs are in serious financial difficulty.

"Though supporters back the right for players to have representatives that look after their interests, they struggle to understand the justification for some of these astronomical fees seen today. Greater transparency and accountability is needed."

Liverpool spent £27m on agents in 2017-18 to conclude deals for players including Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, and their 2018-19 expenditure covers a period in which they have invested heavily to compete for the Premier League title.