English Premier league clubs swelled the bank accounts of continental rivals in a summer of record-breaking spending that ended Wednesday with the biggest shock of the transfer window: David luiz’s return to Chelsea.
The flamboyant Brazilian is back at Stamford Bridge after two years at Paris Saint-Germain to reinforce Chelsea’s defense under new manager Antonio Conte. While Chelsea sold the 29-year-old for around 50 million pounds ($84 million in 2014), the london club has re-signed him on a three-year contract for about 20 million pounds ($26 million) less.
That’s also far lower than what was spent on the summer transfer window’s biggest reunion. Italian champion Juventus banked a world-record 105 million euros ($116 million) from Manchester United for midfielder Paul Pogba’s return to Old Trafford.
United was one of 13 Premier league sides to break their club records for spending on a single player since the end of last season. The 20 top-flight clubs collectively spent nearly 1.2 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) on talent in the summer, breaking the billion-pound barrier for the first time in a transfer window as they benefit from new television deals.
Over the next three years, the Premier league will make 8.3 billion pounds ($10.9 billion) from broadcasters eager to televise the most unpredictable of Europe’s top leagues — a bonanza that has swelled thanks to a 70 percent upsurge in the value of domestic rights.
There is a flipside.
Negotiating with clubs on the continent for a bargain is proving tougher for Premier league chairmen like Steve Parish at Crystal Palace. The london club’s record-breaking summer deal was a domestic transaction, paying liverpool 27 million pounds ($35 million) for striker Christian Benteke.
“It’s been the most difficult transfer window anybody can remember — there’s kind of a wall of money,” Parish said. “The other leagues basically have decided there’s one price within their league and a completely different price if a Premier league club calls. The prices have gone crazy ... you find people focusing more on the domestic market.”
French clubs profited from the English wealth on Wednesday, receiving about 55 million pounds ($72 million) from the Premier league. luiz’s return was preceded by Georges-Kevin Nkoudou’s move from Marseille to Tottenham and Sunderland signing Didier Ndong from lorient.