The Premier League spent a record 2.74 billion euros on transfers during the 2023 summer transfer window and increased its sales at the same time, thanks in particular to Saudi Arabia, according to an estimate by Deloitte published on Saturday.
The wealthy English championship smashed its previous purchase record with an increase of around 520 million euros compared to the summer of 2022, when they had reached 2.224 billion euros, according to figures provided by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
The Premier League ahead of Ligue 1
It is by far the highest-spending league, ahead of Ligue 1 in France with its 900 million euros spent, largely thanks to Paris Saint-Germain and its Qatari owners.
Chelsea once again splurged signings including Christopher Nkunku, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, Manchester City went all out on Josko Gvardiol and Arsenal pulled out the checkbook mainly for Kai Havertz and Declan Rice.
Within the “Big Five” (along with Germany, Spain and Italy), England and France are the only ones with more expenditure than income. The net balance is approximately 1.2 billion spent in the Premier League and 33 million in Ligue 1, while the balance is positive in the Bundesliga (288 million), Serie A (166 million) and Liga (117 million).
Saudi Arabia new stronghold
If England has pulled spending up among the major European championships, monopolizing 48% of them, the Spanish championship has distinguished itself by spending less than last summer (440 M in 2023, against 506m in 2022). La Liga is also out of the top 5 of the biggest buyers, overtaken by Saudi Arabia, an emerging financial power on the world football chessboard.
One week before the end of its transfer window, the Saudi Pro League has released 805 million euros to enlist stars from the Old Continent, according to estimates by Deloitte, based mainly on transfer amounts published in the press. England received the biggest slice of the pie (285m), ahead of France (135), Italy (110), Spain (70) and Germany (30). These figures, necessarily approximate with regard to the confidentiality of transactions, are set to increase by the end of the transfer window in Riyadh, on September 7.
This new windfall allows the Premier League to limit the bill a little: the difference between its expenses and its income is estimated at 1.176 billion euros for the summer of 2023, against 1.245 billion the previous summer.