Leeds, Manchester United and Crystal Palace follow right behind, while Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Everton are also in the top half of the table at BBC Emissions League.

At the opposite end are Leicester, who in pre-season they flew less than half as far as other Premier League teams. Aston Villa has flown 40 times longer and, according to the BBC, accounts for 87.6 tonnes of carbon emissions. Leicester have settled for 4.02 tonnes.

What the teams in the top emission leagues have in common is that they have been to Australia ahead of this season.

Manchester United have played summer games in Thailand, several venues in Australia and in Norway.

Compensation

A United spokesman told the BBC that the club was aware of the negative impact air travel had on the environment, and that as compensation for the trip to Australia, the club had invested in reforestation projects in the country.

– You could say travel is avoidable, but summer tours are important in preparation for the season, as well as offering commercial opportunities for both the club and English football in general. We have fans all over the world and we want to give them a chance to see us play, but we know we have to do it in a responsible way.

The BBC claims that the emissions estimates may be too low. They are calculated based on 30 people flying in tourist class, although according to the channel, travel in business class, first class or private plane can double emissions. The effect of equipment and luggage is also not included in the calculation.

league

Here are the emission leagues, measured in tonnes of CO2 emissions (flights are measured in UK miles in brackets):

1) Aston Villa 87.63 (22.419), 2) Leeds 82.08 (21.858), 3) Manchester United 79.29 (21.507), 4) Crystal Palace 77.49 (22.819), 5) Liverpool 54.12 ( 14,160), 6) Tottenham 53.10 (15,330) 7) Chelsea 49.17 (13,421), 8) Arsenal 37.41 (9808), 9) Manchester City 33.69 (9505), 10) Everton 29.40 (8297), 11) Nottingham Forest 16.02 (3258), 12) Newcastle 13.80 (3253) , 13) Wolverhampton 11.76 (2503), 14) Fulham 10.47 (2174), 15) Bournemouth 9, 06 (1994), 16) Brighton 8.88 (1916), 17) West Ham 8.34 (1206), 18) Brentford 8.07 (1318 ), 19) Southampton 7.92 (1548), 20) Leicester 4.02 (564).

The BBC wrote that it itself sent journalists to Thailand, Australia and the United States to follow the journey of Premier League clubs this season.