Transfer window record smashed
2008-09-02 15:48
London - A record-breaking 500m
pounds ($894m) was spent by Premier League clubs on
players in the mid-year transfer window, according to a report
by consultancy firm Deloitte.
Last-minute deals on Monday including Robinho's move from
Real Madrid to Manchester City for an estimated 32.5m
pounds and Dimitar Berbatov's transfer from Tottenham Hotspur to
Manchester United for 30.75m pounds raised total spending
to around 500m pounds.
That was around 30m pounds more than the same
transfer window last year.
"This level of transfer spending is far in excess of
spending by other European leagues," Deloitte's Paul Rawnsley
said in a statement on Tuesday.
"With the majority of their revenue streams already
contractually secured, English football clubs are proving
resilient to the current challenging economic environment,"
added Rawnsley, director of the company's sports business group.
"While football is not recession-proof it is
recession-resistant."
Deloitte said Premier League clubs spent around 215m
pounds buying players from each other, representing more than 40% of the transfer activity during the window.
In previous years this represented around a third of total
spending.
Including the January transfer window, total spending for
2008 was around 675m pounds compared to 531m pounds the previous year.