Another record-breaking transfer window closed on Friday after a busy summer that saw Premier League clubs splash out £2.36bn on new players.
The combined outlay of the 20 clubs during the window smashes the previous spending record of £1.92bn set last summer by £440m, according to financial services firm Deloitte.
Premier League clubs spent £255m on deadline day alone, which is more than double the £120m spent on the final day of last summer’s window.
That means the 2023-24 season already has the second-highest transfer spend ever after last season’s £2.73bn – with the January window still to come.
Other records include:
- Premier League transfers accounted for 48% of total spending across the ‘big five’ European leagues – La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1
- Premier League clubs received £550m in transfer fees from overseas clubs, more than double the previous record of £210m in the summer of 2022
- With the exception of Spain’s La Liga, gross transfer spend increased in all of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues
- Only two of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues spent more on transfers than they received – the Premier League and Ligue 1
- There were 13 Premier League transfers valued at £50m-plus, which is more than the previous two summer transfer windows combined.
Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, said: “A second successive summer of record spending by Premier League clubs suggests that year-on-year revenue growth could return following the pandemic.
“Nearly three quarters of Premier League clubs (14) spent more this summer than the last, reflecting the increased intensity of competition.
“There continues to be pressure on clubs to acquire top talent to satisfy their on-pitch objectives, whether that’s qualifying for European competition or simply maintaining their position in the Premier League.”
