English Premier League teams splash cash, outdoing European rivals

By Yunus Kaymaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - The decline of the effect of the coronavirus pandemic, which also shook the football world, whetted the appetite for clubs during the summer transfer window.

Football clubs in England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France, considered the top five leagues in Europe, spent €4.5 billion (4.48 million) in the summer transfer window, which ended Sept. 1, according to the Transfermarkt website.

English Premier League teams have the biggest share in the transfer chart with €2.24 billion.

It was followed by Italy (Serie A) with €749 million, France (Ligue 1) with €558 million, Spain (LaLiga) with €506 million and Germany (Bundesliga) with €484 million, respectively.

- 8 of 10 most expensive transfers made by English clubs

English clubs made eight of the 10 most expensive transfers in the summer transfer window.

Real Madrid, reigning champions of the Champions League, was third on the list, while Bayern Munich, the defending champion in the last 10 seasons in the Bundesliga, was in the seventh spot.

Manchester United, who missed the good old days under the helm of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, again sought the remedy in expensive transfers.

The Red Devils paid €95 million for Ajax's 22-year-old Brazilian striker Antony and lead with the most expensive transfer moves on the list.

The Erik ten Hag helmed Manchester club, which also acquired Argentinian defender Lisandro Martinez from Ajax for €57 million, paid the Dutch team more than €150 million for two signings.

- Chelsea meet expectations in transfers

Chelsea, which was taken from Russian businessman Roman Abramovich after the war between Russia and Ukraine, had a turbulent last season. The team continued its tradition of being one of the most active clubs in the transfer period under the helm of new owner Todd Boehly.

Chelsea signed Wesley Fofana from Leicester City, Raheem Sterling from Manchester City, Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona, Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa, Marc Cucurella from Brighton by spending €279 million, became the club that spent the most money on transfers.

Manchester City, which gained €160 million by selling f Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, became one of the few clubs that closed the transfer window without losing money.

Liverpool, who bought Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez from Benfica, closed the summer transfer window with €85 million in expenses, while Arsenal, who wanted to make a big break with head coach Mikel Arteta this season, paid €132 million.

- Barcelona splashes cash, Real Madrid signs one player

Barcelona, who earned more than €500 million by selling 25% of its La Liga broadcasting rights to ease financial problems the club had in recent years, spent €153 million to strengthen its squad and to end the longing of its fans for a trophy.

Acting before Chelsea in the transfer of Jules Kounde, the Catalan club did everything they can in transfers to return to the good old days by signing Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen as well as Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich and Raphinha from Leeds United.

Last season's reigning La Liga and UEFA Champions League champions, Real Madrid, made the most expensive transfer by buying Monaco's French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni for €80 million.

Real Sociedad, who had a busy window like Barcelona, was the third in spending cash in transfers with €53 million, while Sevilla, which let Jules Kounde and Diego Carlos go, had a net income of €63.5 million.

- Bayern Munich makes some ambitious transfers

Bayern Munich, aiming for their 11th consecutive title in the Bundesliga, signed Liverpool's Senegalese star Sadio Mane, Juventus' Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt, Ajax's midfielder Ryan Gravenberch and Rennes' young French striker Mathys Tel for a total of €137.5 million.

Borussia Dortmund, who added Sebastien Haller, Karim Adeyemi and Nico Schlotterbeck to its squad, was second in speding in the Bundesliga with €91 million.

Leipzig, who bought Timo Werner from Chelsea, David Raum from Hoffenheim and Xaver Sclager from Wolfsburg, paid around €60 million.

- Juventus splashes money in Italy while Roma gains some

Juventus, who lost titles to rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan in the last two seasons and spent €80 million on Bremer and Federico Chiesa, spent more than €100 million in the transfer window.

Atalanta paid €20 million to Juventus for Merih Demiral and was second in spending with a total of €98 million, while Napoli spent €68 million, Milan spent €48 million and Inter spent €39 million on transfers.

Jose Mourinho's Roma paid €7 million for Turkish national Zeki Celik and became the club that earned the most money in Serie A with an income of €41 million.

The Rome club signed Paulo Dybala, Nemanja Matic and Mile Svilar on free transfers and Georginio Wijnaldum on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.

- PSG invests in Portuguese players

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), coached by Christophe Galtier, spent €41,5 million for Porto's midfielder Vitinha and €38 million for Sporting Lisbon's left back Nuno Mendes. The team spent approximately €150 million in the summer transfer window.

Olympique Marseille, who signed Cengiz Under from Roma and Rennes, one of Fenerbahce's rivals in the UEFA Europa League, became one of the teams spending the most in Ligue 1 with €76 million.

With €73 million in transfer revenue, Lille became the most profitable team in the transfer window.

* Writing by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp