By Paul Nicholson
September 23 – A breakdown of where the money went from the last transfer window finds that the overwhelming bulk of it – 70% – stayed within the Big 5 European leagues of England, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. And keeping it in the family proved particularly good for AS Monaco who took in €202 million in transfer fees and topped the list of clubs who profited from the summer trading window with a €121 million positive balance.
The figures are compiled by the CIES Football Observatory and show how Europe’s elite are sharing their money predominantly with each other, rather providing a trickle down effect of money into sustaining a more wide-reaching football community.
Player trading in Europe’s biggest leagues and clubs is not just about spending large lumps of cash. It is also generating big money from players that are deemed not required.
CIES points out that Champions League clubs are over-represented in the ranking of clubs generating the most income from player sales. Of the top 15 ranked teams only Monaco, Liverpool and Aston Villa did not qualify for the group stage of the 2015/16 Champions League.
Of course the top earning clubs are also the big spending clubs. Much has been written about the two Manchester clubs topping the summer spend – separated by Paris St Germain.
Add in Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Chelsea and you have roll call of Europe’s most powerful teams – with just Barcelona missing (they are currently serving a transfer ban). If the Champions League final doesn’t feature two teams from this list then it will likely be a surprise – certainly if money is the determinant of success and the CIES lists suggests it is.
The clubs that have spent big to join the big boys in the big leagues are AC Milan, Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion, Bologna, Sunderland and Crystal Palace. Of those teams so far Crystal Palace would seem to have done the best business – but it is a long season, but only just over three months to the opening of the next transfer window.
Looking at overall league buying and selling, six French clubs appear in the top 15 list of clubs that came out the window with the most profit on buying and selling. There are no English clubs in this list. But there are eight English clubs in the top 15 of big spenders. It seems the French are cannier with their cash.
Only two clubs appear in the lists that are from outside the Big 5 leagues. Portugal’s FC Porto and Benfica are fourth and twelfth in the income received from player sales list.
The performance of Germany’s Wolfsburg, a revelation on the pitch in the Bundesliga, has been matched financially with a positive €46 million trading balance that puts them second in the table of clubs that have profited most (they are fourth in the income table with sales of €103 million). While they may have delivered an impressive financial balance, whether they have managed to retain their balance on the pitch will be seen in the Bundesliga and Champions League on this side of Christmas.
Source: All tables and illustration CIES Football Observatory
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