English clubs have blown past £1.6 billion in transfer spending this summer — and we’re still weeks away from deadline day.
Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea are leading a record-breaking spree that could exceed £3 billion by the time the window slams shut at the end of August.
If Liverpool’s bold £150 million swoop for Alexander Isak from Newcastle goes through, it would not only be a Premier League record deal it would cement the league’s dominance over Europe’s traditional “Big Five”.
Liverpool have already outspent the entire French Ligue 1. That’s 18 clubs outdone by one.
And it’s not just the top six throwing money around. Promoted Sunderland have shocked the football world by snapping up Granit Xhaka from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal that pushes their total spending past £120 million nearly matching what Real Madrid have spent this summer.
Chelsea aren’t far behind Liverpool either, with over £210 million spent and more likely to follow, while Arsenal joined the £200m club last week with the arrival of Viktor Gyökeres. Manchester United and Manchester City, too, are hovering around the £150m mark and not finished shopping yet.
Meanwhile, Barcelona are pinching pennies. The Spanish giants brought in Marcus Rashford on loan from a Manchester United side that finished 15th in the Premier League. It’s a far cry from the Galactico era.
Even with financial sustainability rules in place to curb reckless spending, the sheer scale of Premier League broadcasting income over £2bn per season, means English clubs are still operating in a financial stratosphere of their own.
Across Europe, the frustration is mounting. LaLiga, Serie A, and the Bundesliga simply can’t match the pace. The failed European Super League was one attempt to restore competitive balance. With that idea dead in the water, the gap just keeps growing.
Paris Saint-Germain might be the outlier, thanks to Qatari billions, but for the rest, it’s looking bleak.
Unless something changes, the Premier League is not just the richest It’s becoming the only real player left in the transfer market game.
