Saudi cash fuels record transfer window for European football
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An influx of cash from Saudi Arabia stoked a record-breaking summer transfer window for European football, with clubs in the English Premier League spending more than £2bn on new players for the first time.
At the close of the window on Friday night, top tier English clubs had paid out fees of £2.36bn, according to figures from consultancy Deloitte, up from the previous record of £1.92bn set last summer. The average fee paid per player by Premier League clubs rose to £24mn, up from £18.8mn last year, and £14mn in 2018.
Total fees generated from sales by Premier League clubs hit £550mn, more than double the previous record. A number of sizeable transfer deals took place between top English clubs this summer, including Chelsea’s signing of Moises Caicedo from Brighton and Arsenal’s purchase of Declan Rice from West Ham. Both midfielders moved for more than £100mn.
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English clubs have long been the biggest spenders in football, largely thanks to the Premier League’s lucrative broadcast deals both at home and overseas. Many teams also have deep-pocketed owners, either from Gulf sovereign wealth, US private equity or billionaires.
But a sudden spending spree by Saudi Arabian football clubs proved to be a significant new driver of the market. In June, Riyadh handed control of four of its top domestic football clubs to the state-backed Public Investment Fund. Since then those clubs have paid out hundreds of millions of euros to lure top talent to the Saudi Pro League.
Although US-owned Chelsea FC was the biggest gross spending club in football for the second year running, Saudi team Al-Hilal came a close second and was comfortably the biggest net spender. The Riyadh-based side forked out €345mn in new players, according to Transfermarkt, including €90mn on Brazilian forward Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain and €55mn on Rúben Neves from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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According to Deloitte, Saudi Pro League clubs have spent a total of €805mn so far — the Saudi transfer window remains open for another week — making it the fourth-biggest spending league in football this summer.
Much of that money has landed in the Premier League, accounting for more than the fees received by English clubs from overseas transfers. Saudi clubs still have plenty of money to spend, with Jeddah-based Al-Ittihad reportedly offering £150mn for Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mo Salah on transfer deadline day. The offer was rejected.
Calum Ross, assistant director at Deloitte’s sports business group, said the Saudi spending spree had ‘‘added to the mix in terms of Premier League clubs’ ability to spend’’, but that the new source of activity would make windows ‘‘increasingly competitive’’.
Total spending across Europe’s big five leagues in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France rose to €5.7bn from €4.5bn last year, owing to big money signings such as Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich and Jude Bellingham’s arrival at Real Madrid. Fees for both the England internationals topped €100mn.
In France, Qatar-owned PSG were again the big spenders, topped off by a last-minute deal for French international Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt for €95mn.
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As spending continues to rise, football authorities are looking at ways to put a lid on costs. Uefa, European football’s governing body, introduced rules this summer that require teams participating in continental competitions to limit the cost of their playing staff to 90 per cent of revenue. That ceiling is due to drop to 70 per cent over the next two years. The Premier League is exploring a similar system.
Ross said the impact of those new rules would gradually be felt in the transfer market as clubs begin to adjust.
‘‘We’re in a bit of a transitional phase’’, he said. ‘‘I think it’s having an effect on activity, in terms of the time it’s taking to do a deal. Clubs are having to be more in top of where they are financially and where they line up against the rules.’’
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