The summer transfer window officially opened on Wednesday, but you would’ve been fooled into thinking it was already underway given the amount of deals that have already been struck. Premier League spending in particular has reached astronomical heights, blowing Europe’s other elite leagues out of the water in January, and we may see the £2bn mark hit for the first time in a summer window.
The Premier League collectively spent £815m back in January of this year, which represented the largest winter window spending spree ever, surpassing 2018’s previous record by almost double (£430m).
La Liga president Javier Tebas even labelled the English top flight as a “doped market” that threatens to “jeopardise the sustainability of European football.” These bruising statements came after the Premier League spent more than the rest of Europe’s other top five leagues combined.
In fact, Chelsea’s expenditure alone was more than the other four combined.
Even in the face of rising inflation costs, Premier League spending has shown little signs of slowing down. Chelsea dropped the largest single-season sum ever in what is typically the quieter window back in the winter, and the haphazard £106m deadline day deal for Enzo Fernandez underlines just how bloated the market has become.
While European giants such as Real Madrid are still able to attract the biggest talents in the world – Jude Bellingham for example – the economic power of the Premier League is cause for concern for the rest of Europe.
As the commercial and broadcasting value of the league has increased, so too has the value of its teams. Spending has been on a rapid upward trajectory over the past decade, more than doubling since 2013.
Premier League Spending in the Summer Over the Past 10 Years
- 2013 – £606m
- 2014 – £863m
- 2015 – £871m
- 2016 – £1.12bn
- 2017 – £1.41bn
- 2018 – £1.23bn
- 2019 – £1.32bn
- 2020 – £1.30bn
- 2021 – £1.15bn
- 2022 – £1.92bn
Figures courtesy of the The Athletic
It is worth noting that Premier League clubs have discussed a proposal which would anchor spending on player wages to the amount the bottom team are paid in television revenue.
Premier League clubs will discuss today whether there should be a major change to the League’s spending rules, which would introduce a player salary cap linked to the TV revenue of the lowest-earning club.pic.twitter.com/hNyRDOXOc7
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) June 13, 2023
Although the January window was the most pertinent example of the unsettling power of the Premier League, last summer also saw spending threaten to break the £2bn barrier.
This upcoming window could be the first to achieve that feat. High value transfers for Harry Kane (£110m+), Declan Rice (£100+), Moises Caicedo (£75m+) and James Maddison (£50m+) are just some of the rumoured deals that could be completed this summer.
The season gone by was perhaps the most competitive the top flight has ever been across the board, so expect teams to whip out the chequebook so as not to fall behind.
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