Football Clubs in Europe Spent €3.3bn on New Transfer Deals

The year 2019 has witnessed a record value of football transfer deals, with clubs in Europe’s “Big five” leagues spending €5.5bn, €900m more than the 2018 summer transfer window.

However, with far less money available to football clubs and a steep drop in footballers’ value, the coronavirus outbreak triggered a sharp fall both in the volume of transactions and transfer fees.

According to data presented by SafeBetting Sites, the combined value of 1,381 transfer deals completed in the 2020 summer transfer window hit €3.3bn value, a 40% plunge year-over-year.

Premier League Clubs Completed €1.6bn Worth of Deals, 48% of Total Deal Value this Season

As the leading European football league in terms of revenue and brand value, the Premier League also tops the list of completed transfers deals in season 2020/2021. During the 2020 summer transfer window, Premier League’s clubs spent a total of €1.6bn on acquiring players, almost 50% of total transfer deal value this season, revealed the TransferMarkt and The Guardian data. Statistics show that Kai Havertz’s €80 million worth transfer from Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea represents the most valuable deal in Premier League and Europe in the 2020/2021 season.

With €882.3 million spent on 353 transfer deals, Italy’s Serie A ranked as the second-leading football league in Europe. On September 1st, a former Lille player Victor Osimhen signed a five-year contract for SSC Napoli with a transfer fee of €70 million, the most valuable deal in Serie A this season, and the third-largest in Europe. Statistics also show the market value of the 21-year old center-forward player jumped by €10 million in 2020, growing from €30 million in December 2019 to €40 million in August.

Spanish La Liga ranked third among the European football leagues, with its clubs spending €807.1 million on 256 transfers. The TransferMarkt data revealed that Arthur Melo’s €72 million worth transfer from Barcelona to Juventus represents the most valuable deal in Spain this season and the second-most valuable in Europe.

Top Three Football Transfers hit €222 Million Value

The Guardian and TransferMarkt data revealed that football clubs competing in the French Ligue 1 spent a total of €736.9 million on 323 transfer deals at the start of the new season, ranking in the fourth place among the “Big five” European leagues. Bundesliga clubs follow, with €600.7 million worth of transfer deals, respectively.

In 2019, the combined value of the three most valuable football transfers amounted to €323 million. Joao Felix’s €126 million worth transfer from Benfica to Atletico Madrid represented the biggest deal last year. Antoine Griezmann’s transfer from Atletico Madrid to Barcelona and Eden Hazard’s transfer from Chelsea to Real Madrid followed, with €120m a €100m value, respectively.

Statistics indicate the combined value of the top three football transfers in the season 2020/2021 hit €222 million, 31% less compared to last year’s three most valuable deals.