The CIES Football Observatory opens its 2018/19 season with the publication of the 37th Monthly Report. The study analyses from a financial standpoint transfer operations carried out by big-5 league clubs since 2010. The total expenditure for 2018 was €5.82 billion (-2.4% compared to 2017), of which €4.71 billion invested during the freshly concluded summer transfer window (-9.9%).
In 2018, the transfer spending of Premier League clubs accounted for 36.5% of the total big-5 league teams expenditure. Since 2010, English top division clubs had a net transfer spend of -€5.71 billion (78.3% of the overall big-5 league deficit). Manchester City has invested the most in transfer indemnities since 2010 (€1.47 billion). It also has the most negative balance sheet for transfer operations (-€1.03 billion).
Despite the slight drop in spending observed in 2018 compared to the 2017 record year, the economic development of the top of the professional football pyramid suggests that a renewed increase of sums invested in transfer fees will happen in the near future. While talent concentration makes possible the assembly of top performing teams, it also reinforces the imbalance of competitions.
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