Over the past two decades, since transfer spending took off, European football clubs have spent tens of billions of euros on signing new players. The mega-money deals continued this season, helping the clubs from Europe’s Big Five leagues to set another transfer spending record.
According to data presented by CasinosEnLigne.com, Europe’s Big Five leagues collectively spent more than a jaw-dropping €5.7bn on transfers this season, or 47% more than in football season 2021/22.
Premier League’s Total Transfer Spending Soared 83% Season-over-Season to €3.1B
It has become common for Europe’s top-flight clubs to splash the cash when signing new players. But the transfer market for the 2022/23 season has been crazy, bringing more than a few mega deals with hefty price tags.
Enzo Fernandez joined Chelsea from Benfica at the end of the January transfer window in €121 million worth of deal, the largest this season. Manchester United’s star Antony made the second-largest deal after joining the Red Devils for €95 million. Still, this was just a drop in a sea of Premier League’s total transfer spending in the 2022/23 season.
According to TransferMarket data, football clubs from the Big Five leagues collectively spent €3.86bn on transfers in 2020/21 season. Premier League transfers made 43% of that value, with €1.68 worth of deals. Serie A clubs made the second-largest spending last season of €830 million. Bundesliga, Ligue 1, and La Liga followed, with €488 million, €480 million, and €385 million, respectively.
But thanks to its latest broadcasting deal, reportedly worth €12.7bn over the next three seasons, Premier League set another transfer spending record and further cemented its position in the European football landscape.
The TransferMarkt data show Premier League clubs collectively spent €3.08bn on transfers this season, or 83% more than in 2021/22, shattering the previous spending record of €2.2bn set in the 2017/18 season. That means Premier League clubs spent almost four times the total of Italian Serie A clubs, who came closest with spending of €824 million. Ligue 1 made the third-highest transfer spending in the 2022/23 season of €697 million. La Liga and Bundesliga follow, with €560 million and €553 million, respectively.
Serie A the Only League with Transfer Spending Drop
Although Premier League is financially playing at a different level from other leagues, most of them have also seen an impressive transfer spending increase in the 2022/23 season. Bundesliga clubs spent €65.8 million or 13% more on transfers this season, with the total value of deals reaching €553.8 million.
Ligue 1 and La Liga both saw a massive 45% increase in transfer spending compared to last season. French top-flight clubs spent €697.4 million on transfers, €216 million more than last season, while total transfer spending in La Liga jumped by almost €175 million, rising from €385.1 million to over €560 million.
Statistics show Serie A was the only league among the Big Five with a transfer spending drop. According to TransferMarkt data, Italian football clubs spent €824.2 million on transfers in season 2022/23, or €6.3 million less than last season.
