When you ask people who they believe the biggest or wealthiest league in the world is, the most common response is the English Premier League. There isn’t much of a doubt that the teams in England are the largest spenders in the transfer market. With that being said, I’m not sure anyone expected this level of investment from the so-called “Big Six” in England.
It would be wrong to start this discussion with any team other than Liverpool. The reigning champions have left no doubt of their intention to repeat. The Reds have already confirmed the signings of Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Armin Pesci. The approximate fee of those signings is a staggering $362 million. While this is no doubt an exuberant amount of money, Liverpool is still rumored to sign Alexander Isak for a fee of around $170 million. No, you are not reading that wrong. While they are still likely to make some more sales, that means that Liverpool should have a net spend of close to $500 million.
While Liverpool has taken most of the headlines (and for good reason) the other five clubs within the “Big Six” have not been shy from spending either. Arsenal are close to completing the $75 million deal of striker Viktor Gyökeres, having already completed the signings of Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Nørgaard, and Martin Zubimendi for a total fee of around $184 million. Chelsea has spent a total of $285 million, Manchester United have totaled $180 million, Tottenham have dished out $164 million and City have spent $170 million. That means the total money spent on transfers from the top six teams in the Premier League so far is an astounding $1.34 billion.
The money is England continues to be atop the Football pyramid. Barcelona have had to limit their spending due to financial regulations, and Real Madrid are famous for convincing players to leave on free transfers in order to limit their spending. As time goes on, the gap between England and the rest of Europe continues to grow. Gone are the days when Barcelona and Real Madrid have ultimate spending power in European Football. It is England’s time to shine.