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Record €5.5bn spent on transfers in Europe’s big five leagues

‘Unprecedented level’ of spending driven by income from broadcasts and Uefa competitions

Spain’s Atlético Madrid signed 19-year-old Portuguese striker João Félix from Benfica for €126 million. Photograph: Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP/Getty Images

Tue Sep 3 2019 - 21:50

Spending by teams in Europe's big five leagues totalled a record €5.5 billion during the close season transfer window, financial analyst Deloitte's Sports Business Group said on Tuesday.

The outlay was €900 million more than the previous record set in 2018, with England's Premier League clubs spending €1.55 billion with a net spend of €635 million.

Spain's La Liga clubs spent €1.37 billion – exceeding €1 billion for the first time – while Italy's Serie A (€1.17 billion) Germany's Bundesliga (€740 million) and the French Ligue 1 (€670 million) all set new records.

"Spending across clubs in Europe's big five leagues has reached record levels in this summer's transfer window," said Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.

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“This unprecedented level of spend has been driven by a number of factors, including additional income from new league broadcast cycles, participation in, and subsequent distributions from, Uefa club competitions.”

Contributing factors

Jones said club-specific factors such as management changes and improving playing squads to achieve on-pitch objectives were also contributing factors.

“The improved financial performance of European football clubs has also reduced the need for clubs to sell their best players,” he added.

Spain's Atlético Madrid signed 19-year-old striker João Félix from Benfica for €126 million while Barcelona landed France international forward Antoine Griezmann from Atlético for €120 million.

Real Madrid ended their long pursuit of Eden Hazard by signing the Belgium winger from Chelsea for a reported fee of €100 million.

– Reuters

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