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Premier League flexes financial muscle in winter transfers

London, Feb 1 (EFE).- Premier League clubs once again dominated the winter transfer window, spending a four-year high of over 300 million euros to bring in players such as Luis Diaz and Bruno Guimaraes.

The Colombian who joined Liverpool for 45 million euros plus 15 in variables and the Brazilian landed at Newcastle United for some 40 million euros they were two of the priciest deals of the window.

The return of fans to the stadium and the television rights agreements signed over the past few months allowed the clubs to recover from the pandemic at a much faster pace than other rival leagues.

LaLiga clubs spent nearly 80 million euros, Serie A about 175 million, and the Bundesliga 70 million, nearly a third of the combined costs of the Premier League deals.

Newcastle United, which was recently acquired by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, account for over a third of the spending.

The relegation-threatened club sealed five deals to sign Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Dan Burn and Matt Targett.

Second on the list comes Everton with 60 million euros, ahead of Liverpool who spent 53 million euros.

While the English top-tier clubs’ expenditure easily beat the 90 million spent last year, they also exceeded the 250 million paid in 2020 and 160 million a year before that.

The outlay fell short of 2018 levels, however, when signings such as Virgil Van Dijk for Liverpool, Aymeric Laporte for Manchester City and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Arsenal drove total winter transfer investments to 500 million.

Premier League teams also posted a four-year high sales revenue of 170 million euros, driven by Manchester City who earned the most during the window thanks to Ferran Torres’ move to Barcelona for around 60 million.

Tottenham Hotspur also did well, making money with Dele Alli’s departure to Everton, although a part of the 40 million the Spurs would receive are in variables.

Burnley, with the sale of Wood to Newcastle for 30 million, and Everton, with the sale of Lucas Digne to Aston Villa, complete the revenue list. EFE

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