PUBLICATION - English Premier League clubs spend record €2.25 billion on player purchases as window closes

 

English Premier League clubs spent a combined €2.25 billion to purchase players in the just-

concluded football transfer window. This is according to information from Transfermarkt a website that tracks football transfer news.

Specifically, the spending in this transfer window represents a 33.9% increase compared to the €1.68 billion spent in last year’s transfer window. A further breakdown showed that the clubs on the other hand earned €884.81 million in transfer income, an indication of a net spend of €1.36 billion in the period under review.

In both expenditure, income, and net spend, the Premier League led all other European leagues, with the league’s expenditure being nearly three times that of the next league on the spending table, Italy’s Serie A.

So how were English clubs able to finance this transfer outlay?

• The English Premier League has long been European football’s most lucrative league, earning billions from TV revenue.
• According to Sky Sports, the league renewed its TV deal with its broadcast partners Sky, Amazon, and BT for €5.55 billion, spanning the 2022 to 2025 seasons. This figure is €500 million larger than Spain’s La Liga’s €4.95 billion deal with Telefónica and DAZN.
• The EPL redistributed €2.26 billion to its 20 clubs at the end of the 2021/2022 season, with first-place Manchester City collecting €189.57 million and last place Norwich receiving €113.97 million.
• Interestingly, Norwich’s figure surpasses that of the German Bundesliga’s league winner, Bayern München. The league’s clubs also pull in a lot of income from matchday revenue including gate receipts and concessions, and lucrative commercial partnerships.

What you should know

• The 20 English Premier League clubs spent a sum of €2.25 billion in the 2022/2023 summer transfer window as opposed to earnings in €884.81 million from the sales of their players.
• The next highest spending leagues in Europe were Italy’s Serie A with €749.23 million, France’s Ligue 1 with €557.95 million. Spain’s La Liga with €505.69 million, and Germany’s Bundesliga with €484.08 million.
• The league’s 2022/2023 spending was 33.9% up on 2021/2022’s €1.68 billion figure. This may be due to the league’s teams being able to collect matchday revenue once more, after the empty stadiums and reduced attendances of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The league’s most expensive transfer was Manchester United’s €95 million purchase of Brazilian winger Antony from the Dutch Eredivisie’s Ajax Amsterdam. The league’s teams brought in a total of €884.81m from player sales, with the most expensive sale being Leicester City’s sale of French defender Wesley Fofana for €80.40 million to Chelsea FC.
• Only three clubs in the EPL made a net profit, led by Brighton and Hove Albion with €66.10 million. Leicester City (€64.40 million) and Manchester City (€20.40 million) also reported positive net spending, with 2022/2023 with City turning a profit for the first time since 2005/2006.

Highest spending clubs in the EPL

The English Premier League saw half of its clubs spend above €100 million on player acquisition, with the top five splashing out €1.03 billion. The top five spending teams were:

• Chelsea FC spent €281.99 million, with their highest expenditure being the aforementioned Wesley Fofana from Leicester City. The club only earned €54 million from sales.
• Manchester United paid out €238.02 million for new arrivals, including the league’s highest single fee. The club earned a relatively paltry €11.50 million from player sales.
• West Ham United spent €182 million on acquisitions as opposed to €17.8 million earned from sales. The clubs highest spend was on the Brazilian midfielder, Lucas Paqueta, from Olympique Lyonnais for €42.95 million.
• Next is Tottenham Hotspur, who spent €169.9 million against €38.75 million earned. The club’s highest fee was the €58 million paid to Everton FC for the Brazilian forward Richarlison.
• Newly-promoted Nottingham Forestrecorded a €161.95 million outlay, including the purchases of Nigerians Emmanuel Dennis and Taiwo Awoniyi from Watford and Union Berlin respectively. The club earned €7 million from sales.