The European transfer market is running "in slow motion" this year, according to L'EQUIPE. Ligue 1 club Paris St. Germain is the exception to a European market "hit almost everywhere by the crisis." In England, Manchester City is not the "locomotive of the past seasons." Head Coach Roberto Mancini had spent €423M since his arrival in '09, but this summer the team has only recruited Jack Rodwell from Everton for €15M ($18.9M). The big spenders have been Chelsea (€80M/$100.7M), ManU (€54M/$67.9M), and Arsenal (€43M/$54.1M). The English Premier League is the league "least affected by the crisis" in Europe thanks to the ever-increasing domestic and int'l TV rights. In Italy, "there are signs the crisis" has taken its toll. Serie A has seen 672 players sold compared to the 512 that have been bought. The two big spenders have been Juventus (€47.5M/$59.8M) and Roma (€36.2M/$45.5M). In France, Ligue 1 has Europe's big spenders in PSG. The club from the capital has spent €140M ($176.1M) this summer or two-thirds of all the money spent by Ligue 1 teams. In Spain, only €85M ($106.9M) has been spent by La Liga clubs including €33M ($41.5M) by Barcelona and nothing by Real Madrid to this point. In Germany, the Bundesliga's top spenders have been Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund (L'EQUIPE, 8/23).
