It is hardly surprising that European clubs outside of England are looking on with a mixture of jealousy and fear at the exorbitant spending by Premier League teams this summer.
Advertisement
Heidel revealed that City’s finances meant the two-time Premier League champions eventually made an offer that Schalke simply could not turn down.
Monaco are top of the table, level with Guingamp and Nice on seven points from three matches and one ahead of PSG who won their first two games of the season.
Another high-profile loan move seemed likely with Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere weighing up his options having been told he can leave Ashburton Grove for a year to kick-start his career after an injury-hit campaign last season.
“We’re probably only a year, or a year and a half, away from finding out what the next cycle is”.
Manchester United broke the world record when they re-signed France midfielder Paul Pogba from Juventus for a fee of 89 million pounds, eclipsing the previous highest of 100 million euros (84.20 million pounds) paid by Real Madrid for Gareth Bale in 2013.
The latest record-breaking splurge by Premier League clubs has been powered by the new TV rights deal for the division.
“The big difference now is that almost all the English Premier League clubs can be competitive in the European market for players as no other country has such a lucrative contract spread across the league”, says Philip Shepherd, a partner at PriceWaterhouseCooper.
Both deals would be expected to eclipse Leicester’s 16.6 million pounds club-record move for Nigerian forward Ahmed Musa last month.
In contrast, the clubs of Spanish La Liga spent only £400 million this transfer window, even behind the German Bundesliga (£460 million) and Italian Serie A (£590 million).
“The model in the Premier League has been so equitable for so long”.
A number of players were also sent out on loan, as clubs fight for the top-four spot. Mauricio Pochettino is counting on continuity this season and believes he has the squad depth to handle Champions League soccer on top of Premier League competition.
Manchester City downscaled its squad, with Joe Hart, Eliaquim Mangala, Samir Nasri, Jason Denayer and Wilfried Bony all heading out on loan.
Arsenal’s injury-prone England worldwide midfielder Jack Wilshere, 24, was loaned to Bournemouth after slipping down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium.
Luiz has returned to Chelsea after a successful stint at French giants PSG.
Their biggest outlay saw Irish midfielder Jeff Hendrick arrive at Turf Moor from Derby on a three-year deal.
Mario Balotelli is another player who will be desperate to find a new club.
He then clearly alluded to the record transfer of Paul Pogba as being a prime example of how inflated the market has become exclusively due to English clubs.
Advertisement
After conceding eight goals in its first two matches of the season, Espanyol brought in three players (striker Alvaro Vazquez, defender Diego Rivas and goalkeeper Diego Lopez) and shipped out four more.
