The Premier League was the highest spender in Europe in the 2021 summer transfer window. In total, clubs in the Premier League spent £1.1billion on 103 permanent signings, £285 billion (11%) down from the previous summer’s transfer window total of £1.3 billion.
A net spend of £575 million after clubs in the Premier League recouped around £446 million on player sales, with Aston Villa topping the table for funds received after they got £100 million from Grealish, while Chelsea also recouped £94.4 million from sales, selling the likes of Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud, etc.
Arsenal emerged as the biggest spender out of the Premier League clubs, spending a total of £156.8 million on players like White, Martin Ødegaard etc. This was closely followed by Manchester United with a total of £133.7million, where they got the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Varane, Sancho etc.
Deloitte’s Sports Business Group director, Tim Bridge said, “Even with the pressures of a pandemic, there have been a number of high-profile deals, with some of the highest revenue-generating Premier League clubs flexing their financial muscles to strengthen their competitive position both domestically and at a European level.”
Dan Jones, partner in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group said, “This has been a remarkable transfer window. Club spending records have been broken, player moves – including the two greatest players of their generation – have grabbed the headlines and Premier League clubs have spent in excess of £1 billion for the sixth summer in a row. Perhaps most remarkable is that all this has been achieved with lower spending than we have seen in the previous two summers.”
The volume of free transfers increased in this summer’s transfer window, while some other clubs relied on loans. Jones added, “Whilst the volume of transfers has remained consistent, the number of free transfers has increased as have the number of the highest value deals. This reflects twin forces of clubs prioritising financial stability and seeking value in the market while also being willing to pay for the very best talent.
“This pattern has been reinforced by the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the relative financial strength of the Premier League clubs compared to some of their European peers.”
Laliga clubs spent a total of €293 million, while Serie A clubs spent a total of €549 million and Bundesliga clubs spent €416 million.