Mind the ever-growing gap: the Premier League keeps spending big

English clubs have spent more on players this summer than the other four major European leagues combinedThe financial power of the Premier League is unmatched. The teams in England’s top division have collectively invested more than £1.4bn in new players already this summer (through disclosed fees alone), around £303m more than the 76 clubs from the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A combined.These figures are the gross spend, so take no account of players sold to help balance the books. Factoring this in only increases the divide.

The clubs of Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga are £203.4m and £72.2m in credit from their transfer dealings respectively. While La Liga (£163.1m) and Serie A (£124.1m) have spent more than they have earned, they are an ocean adrift of the Premier League’s net spend of £523.6m. Continue reading...