By David Owen
September 2 – Summer transfer spending by Premier League clubs hit a record £835 million in the window that closed last night, as higher broadcasting revenues combined with more intense competition for England’s four Champions League slots to send expenditure soaring.
The Premier League’s total was almost double the tally run up by clubs in the next highest-spending West European league – Spain’s La Liga – where gross spending reached £425 million. Clubs in Italy’s Serie A spent a comparatively modest £260 million, just ahead of the much-admired Bundesliga on £250 million, with competitors in France’s Ligue 1 mustering just £100 million – less than one-eighth of the Premier League total.
But, according to analysis by professional services firm Deloitte, deadline day spending in England was well below last year’s figure, with £85 million of transfers concluded by Premier League clubs, against £140 million in 2013. This appears to be largely a consequence of the number of loan deals.
The highest-profile deadline day deal – Radamel Falcao’s switch from Monaco to Manchester United – was a loan move, as were the deals taking Javier Hernández from United to Real Madrid, and Manchester City duo Micah Richards and Alvaro Negredo to Fiorentina and Valencia respectively.
Deloitte said the summer window saw both the highest gross spend in a single transfer window by a single Premier League club – about £150 million by Manchester United, a club currently struggling to live up to the glories of previous years – and a new record transfer fee for an individual player in English football – the £59.7 million fee paid to Real Madrid once again by Manchester United for Angel di Maria.
With a high proportion of spending by Premier League clubs going on players, such as United’s Danny Welbeck and a clutch of Southampton stars, who were already performing in the league, net transfer spending was only marginally above last year’s record – at £410 million, against £400 million. Some £350 million of this went to overseas clubs and £60 million to their counterparts in England’s Football League.
Dan Jones, a partner in Deloitte’s sports business group, said: “Last season the average Premier League club received over £25 million more in central broadcast distributions than they did in 2012/13, which has helped fuel a new record spend this summer.
“With Premier League clubs in a stronger position to afford increased transfer and player costs than ever before, the key challenge remains pursuing their ambitions responsibly.
“Regulations are now in place at both a league and continental level encouraging clubs to balance their costs with revenue. We hope that while increased revenues continue to allow the league to attract top players, they will also result in a more profitable picture across the league in the years to come.”
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