Premier League clubs set new record of £835m spend in transfer window
Player transfer spending by Premier League clubs in the summer 2014 transfer window reached a new record, according to analysis by the business advisory firm Deloitte. Gross spending totalled £835m, over 30% up on the previous record of £630m set last summer.
Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, commented: “This summer transfer window has again been one of records with Premier League clubs spending more than in any previous transfer window. Gross spending of £835m by clubs across the league has broken the record set last summer by over £200m. This summer has also seen the highest gross spend in a single transfer window by a single Premier League club and a new record transfer fee for an individual player in English football.
“In a summer where the world’s best players were on show at the World Cup we have again seen how Premier League clubs are able to successfully compete on a global stage in terms of attracting talent. We continue to see the increased resources that Premier League clubs enjoy, as a result of improved broadcast deals, translate into investment in players. Last season the average Premier League club received over £25m more in central broadcast distributions than they did in 2012/13, which has helped fuel a new record spend this summer.
“With Premier League clubs in a stronger position to afford increased transfer and player costs than ever before, the key challenge remains pursuing their ambitions responsibly. Regulations are now in place at both a league and continental level encouraging clubs to balance their costs with revenue. We hope that while increased revenues continue to allow the league to attract top players, they will also result in a more profitable picture across the league in the years to come.”
Some of the key findings from the analysis by Deloitte include:
– Premier League clubs have committed to around £835m in respect of player transfer fees in the summer 2014 transfer window, well above the previous record of £630m gross spend set last summer.
– Premier League clubs concluded player acquisitions totalling around £85m on deadline day. The equivalent deadline day figure in the summer 2013 was around £140m.
– Manchester United have recorded the highest ever gross spend by a Premier League club in a summer transfer window. The Red Devils have spent c.£150m on new talent this window, representing c.18% of the aggregate gross transfer spend by Premier League clubs.
– The four Premier League clubs competing in this season’s Champions League – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City – had a combined gross transfer spend of £342m this summer transfer window, representing over 40% of the aggregate gross transfer spend by Premier League clubs.
– Gross transfer fees to overseas clubs were £530m, slightly above that seen in summer 2013 (£490m). This represented 63% of aggregate gross transfer spend by Premier League clubs, as compared with 78% in summer 2013.
– Across the other ‘big five’ top divisions of Europe, the next highest spending league was La Liga, with a gross spend of £425m. Serie A was next with a gross spend of £260m, followed by the Bundesliga with £250m and Ligue 1 with £100m.
– Premier League clubs’ net transfer spend of £410m, being the net amount that flows to overseas clubs (£350m) and Football League clubs (£60m), was slightly above the previous record of £400m set last summer.
– In aggregate Football League clubs benefited from net transfer fees inflow of around £60m from Premier League clubs in summer 2014.
– Since the introduction of the transfer window system, gross player transfer spending has exceeded £6.3bn, with over 80% of this being spent in summer transfer windows.
