Premier League clubs spent a record £1.43B ($1.85B) on players during this summer’s “transfer window,” an increase of almost a quarter on last year’s figure and the sixth-consecutive year that records were broken, according to Conor Sullivan of the FINANCIAL TIMES. According to consultant firm Deloitte on Friday, there was a record £210M ($271.5M) worth of deals on the last day of the window. Crystal Palace’s £26M ($33.6M) signing of Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho and Liverpool’s £35M ($45M) signing of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Arsenal were "among the deals to be confirmed on the last day." The record figure means that gross spending by Premier League clubs since the first transfer window in Jan. '03 has exceeded £10B ($13B). Gross transfer expenditure by the 20 clubs in England’s top football league was up 23% on last year and equivalent to 31% of estimated revenues for the '17-18 season. That was a "marked rise" on the average summer window ratio of 22% of revenues. Deloitte said, however, that given "the context of generating record broadcast, commercial and match day revenues, Premier League clubs are spending well within their means." Deloitte partner Dan Jones said that it was "no surprise" that England’s top flight clubs were maintaining their "leading position in the world’s player transfer market" given the increase in revenue from broadcast rights. He added that "with Premier League clubs’ revenue showing no sign of decreasing in the foreseeable future, we would expect to see spending continue to rise" (FT, 9/1). REUTERS' Martyn Herman reported Premier League spending during the window "dwarfed" that of other top European leagues. Serie A’s total of £735M ($950.4M) was the next highest figure, followed by Ligue 1 at £590M ($763M), the Bundesliga at £510M ($659.5M) and La Liga, where the window closed on Friday, at £500M ($646.5M). Spain’s top three clubs -- Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid -- "all made a profit in the window," according to figures from Bonus Code Bets. Germany’s Borussia Dortmund earned the biggest profit as a share of revenue (30%), while Serie A side AC Milan's spending left it with a deficit of €162M ($192.7M), representing 76% of its total income (REUTERS, 9/1).
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR: The BBC reported some of the highest-profile moves of the window "failed to materialise." Despite top-flight clubs' total summer outlay, Alexis Sánchez, Virgil van Dijk, Riyad Mahrez, Thomas Lemar, Diego Costa and Ross Barkley "all remained at their clubs." Philippe Coutinho, the subject of a rejected £114M ($147.4M) bid from Barcelona earlier in August, remained at Liverpool. Six of the top 10 spending windows for individual clubs have come this summer, with Paris St. Germain and Barcelona "making the two biggest signings of all time." PSG effectively committed to an additional £165.7M ($214M) outlay to turn Kylian Mbappé's loan deal from Monaco "into a permanent move next summer" (BBC, 9/1).
IN SPAIN: REUTERS' Brian Homewood reported AC Milan confirmed that it "splurged" over €230M ($297M) in the transfer window in its bid to re-establish itself "as a major force in European football." Milan CEO Marco Fassone added that the club’s wage bill would be between €110M ($142M) and €120M ($155M) for the financial year. Fassone said, "It’s been a very important transfer window which has gone beyond all our expectations, if we are being honest. Things changed as we went along. Initially, the idea was to spend less, but we have spent over €230 million which is a lot of money. We will put it all on this all onto this year’s balance sheet, we want to be clear about that" (REUTERS, 9/1).
IN FRANCE: L’ÉQUIPE reported Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs invested €697M ($829.5M) in the transfer market this summer, four times the amount of last year. The total in sales was lower -- “for the first time in four years” -- at €619M ($736.7M). Monaco was at the top of the sales list with €176.9M ($210.5M), while Paris St. Germain spent the most at €235M ($280M). French Professional Football League General Dir Didier Quillot said, “After the first four days of the season marked with an increase in goals, attendances and audiences, the investments by the French clubs are showing a very encouraging future” (L’ÉQUIPE, 9/4).
