New world record - total spending on transfer fees breaks €10b mark in 23/24 season
For the first time in the history of the sport, transfer fees worth over €10 billion were made in a single season across the entire sport. The record was broken on deadline day as transfers in both transfer windows amounted to no less than €10.2b, surpassing the previously held record of €9.4b which was achieved in the 2019/20 season. Remarkably, the ten highest-spending clubs in the world made up a significant chunk of the new record, spending between them around €2.75b on new players.
Premier League still dominates, despite drop in spending
To no great surprise, the Premier League led the way in money spent on new players over the course of the 23/24 season. The English top-flight’s total transfer spend came to a staggering €2.9b, with Ligue 1 (€1.1b), Serie A (€996m), the Saudi Pro League (€972m) and the Bundesliga (€834m) rounding up the top five leagues by money spent on transfer fees. However, it wasn’t the Premier League’s spending in the transfer window that led to the net spend breaking the €10b mark.
Although the English top-flight still accounts for the highest share of transfer spending in the market, its total spending actually fell from last season’s figure of €3.1b. Instead, it was Europe’s other top leagues that saw an increase in spending across both transfer windows, with Ligue 1 (+€396m), Bundesliga (+€279.2m), English Championship (+€124.8m) and Serie A (+€79m) all essentially compensating for the Premier League spending €180m less on transfer fees.
However, the biggest factor was undoubtedly the emergence of the Saudi Pro League in the transfer market during the 23/24 season. Last year, the Asian top-flight spent just €45.5m on transfer fees, but this time around that number has ballooned to €972.1m in transfer fees. Despite the gulf state clubs cutting short their spending spree in January to just €23m on new players, the money spent in the summer was a huge factor in the sport reaching new heights in money spent on transfer fees in the market.
Which clubs spent the most money in the 23/24 season?
The Saudi influence over the transfer window over the course of the 23/24 season can also be seen through the number of clubs from the gulf state that have elbowed their way into the list of top spending clubs across the world. Within the top 20 alone, no less than four Saudi clubs make the rankings with Al-Ittihad (€121.4m spent), Al-Nassr (€165m), Al-Ahli (€184m) and Al-Hilal (€376m) all competing with Europe’s richest clubs. In fact, of the top European leagues only the Premier League can lay claim to more clubs from its division making it into the top 20, with no less than 10 clubs in the rankings coming from England - which once again showcases the financial might of the English top-flight in comparison to the rest of the sport. The rest of the top 20 was made up of two clubs each from Serie A and the Bundesliga, while one club from LaLiga and Ligue 1 also made the list.
