01 February 2023 , 17:23
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It was a transfer window dominated by Chelsea’s unprecedented spending from start to finish. But it was also a month that underlined how the Premier League is a de facto Super League, possessing financial muscles that the vast majority of European sides can no longer compete with.
Some of the numbers are astounding. And while it is impossible to not be drawn to the activity at Stamford Bridge, even the smaller English clubs have comfortably spent more than entire leagues on the continent.
Ten of the 11 biggest spending clubs were from the Premier League as 19 out of 20 welcomed new arrivals with a total value of €830m (£734m) - more than the GDP of small countries such as Tonga or Samoa.
Sure, Chelsea contributed €320m of that amount but even Leicester, the Premier League’s ninth-most prolific spenders, paid out roughly the same as the whole of La Liga or Serie A.
With leading agents referring to the Premier League as “Hollywood” and senior club officials such as Barcelona president Joan Laporta claiming that a new Super League would rival the Premier League rather than feature English clubs, the past four-and-a-half weeks have solidified the reality of there being a structural imbalance that could have hugely damaging consequences for the sport going forward.
Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush
Premier League
Total spend: €830m (£736m)
Net spend: €730m (£647m) loss
Highest fee: €121m (£107m) - Enzo Fernandez (Benfica to Chelsea)
Preposterous. There is plenty of analysis around Chelsea’s record-breaking window here and here. But the league as a whole continues to operate on a whole other level. Southampton, to give one example, spent roughly the same as all 40 top-tier Spanish and Italian clubs combined. The gap, experts warn, will become even bigger in future windows.
LaLiga
Total spend: €32m (£28.4m)
Net spend: €13m (£11.5m) profit
Highest fee: €8m (£7.1m) - Cesar Montes (Monterrey to Espanyol)
With Barcelona broke and Real Madrid having less freedom to spend as both push for a Super League, the market in Spain was a desperately quiet one - perhaps most notable for Joao Felix’s departure from Atletico Madrid to Chelsea on loan.
Joao Felix was one of eight January arrivals at Chelsea. (Chelsea FC)Serie A
Total spend: €31m (£27.5m)
Net spend: €35m (£31m) profit
Highest fee: €8.5m (£7.54m) - Antonin Barak (Hellas Verona to Fiorentina)
Last month in Italian football was all about Juventus ’ latest off-field crisis, a story which points to its wider financial problems. Serie A may be the most unpredictable of Europe’s big leagues with the names on top of the table rotating every season - but how many of the world’s best players are currently operating there?
Bundesliga
Total spend: €67m (£59.4m)
Net spend: €1m (£890k) profit
Highest fee: €9m (£8m) - Jonas Omlin (Montpellier to Borussia Monchengladbach)
These figures do not factor in Joao Cancelo, who arrived at Bayern Munich on loan before making the deal permanent in the summer, but German football outside of its annual runaway leader is in a tough spot.
The pandemic has hit clubs who do not have owners with deep pockets hard and the impact will linger for some time. Sascha Empacher, the player representative who spotted Mo Salah and works with a number of top clients in Germany, has warned that the league’s best talent will continue to be lured to England.
Joao Cancelo grew frustrated with Pep Guardiola's refusal to play him (Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)Ligue 1
Total spend: €131m (£116m)
Net spend: €68m (£60m) profit
Highest fee: €31m (£27.5m) - Vitinha (Braga to Marseille)
Everton chiefs face transfer backlash from fans after deadline day disaster
The second biggest spenders but French clubs collectively also recorded the second biggest profit - and it would have been the biggest were it not for the Enzo Fernandez deal. Sold five players to Premier League clubs for a total of €131.5m - including Malo Gusto and Benoit Badiashile to Chelsea.
Primeira Liga
Total spend: €27m (£24m)
Net spend: €138m (£122m) profit
Highest fee: €9m (£8m) - Andreas Schjelderup (Nordsjælland to Benfica)
Take out the Enzo Fernandez deal and Portuguese top-flight clubs would still have made a healthy profit. Benfica’s bean counters must still be laughing having bought a player for €10m last summer, played him 29 times and sold him for a €111m profit. And that is after moving Darwin Nunez to Liverpool in the summer. The transfer market's biggest winners.