EPL have forked out over £2B this summer to smash the transfer window record
Cost of living crisis? What cost of living crisis? As the British public tighten their belts, the Premier League’s fat-cat owners are opening wallets like never before.
When the transfer window finally closed at 11pm on Thursday, more than £2billion had been splurged, smashing the 2017 record of £1.45bn. Here, this is an analysis of the reasons behind this summer’s outrageous spending spree.
New Owners
IT is fair to say Todd Boehly has made the most of his first transfer window at Chelsea. Assuming the role of interim sporting director as well as owner, the American has acted like a ‘kid in a sweet shop’, according to Gary Neville, splashing out a Premier League-high £258.5million on seven players.
Newcastle also have new owners, and their Saudi backers have spent £122m on four players, including striker Alexander Isak for a club-record £60m.
Another owner who has joined the Premier League is Evangelos Marinakis. While the Greek media mogul has had the keys to Nottingham Forest for five years, this is the first time he has been in the big league and Forest have brought in 19 players for £150.9m.
Record Revenues
The combined revenues of clubs dropped during Covid, from £5.2bn in 2018-19 to £4.5bn in 2019-20. It was the Premier League’s first year-on-year fall.
Since then, they have been back on the rise. Accounting giant Deloitte estimates revenues will hit a record £6bn this year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
The record revenues predicted this season are largely down to new mega-money overseas broadcast deals and the sustained spending habits of fans.
Sellers’s Market
A Theme of this transfer window has been mid-table clubs holding the Big Six to ransom. Brighton let Manchester City and Chelsea get into a bidding war for Marc Cucurella and waited until they got their £55m asking price before selling their left back. Leicester extracted £69.5m from the Blues for Wesley Fofana.
Across the board, fees have been inflated. Newcastle, West Ham and Wolves all broke their transfer records and 10 players were signed for fees north of £40m.
Race for the Top Four
Desperation to play in the lucrative Champions League has a lot to answer for. It is worth £50m minimum.
Manchester United manager Eric ten Hag admitted as much after signing winger Antony (below) from Ajax for £85.5m. ‘(The club’s owners) made adaptations because of how the market was,’ he said. ‘If you want to fight for the top four, you have to do it.’
It’s the same story at the other end of the table. Leeds, who stayed up on the final day last season, have splashed out £89.8m. .
Will it stop?
The Premier League are considering a cap on spending on transfers and wages for the first time. UEFA are replacing Financial Fair Play with a new rule limiting clubs to spending 70 per cent of their revenue in a calendar year and England’s top flight could bring in a similar system.
However, it is likely the Premier League would set a higher percentage than UEFA. And the average revenues of English clubs are much greater than those of their European rivals.
So, do not be surprised if we see another spending record next summer, especially with the Premier League set to have a fifth place in the Champions League from 2024.
