Premier League spending looks certain to shatter all previous records before the current transfer window closes as soccer’s superpowers in the UK reload in an increasingly frenzied arms race.
Fueled by lucrative television contracts worth about £8.3 billion (US$10.8 billion) and unprecedented revenue streams at home and overseas, the 20 Premier League teams have spent like never before in the weeks since the summer transfer window opened.
Already close to £800 million has been paid for new players, with the single window record spend of £1.2 billion well within reach with more than a month before the market closes.
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Determined to make amends for last season’s surprisingly lackluster debut campaign in the Premier League, which saw Manchester City finish 15 points behind champions Chelsea, Pep Guardiola has played a key role in driving the market sky high.
City manager Guardiola, backed by his club’s Abu Dhabi-based billionaire owners, has embarked on an historically lavish spending spree, including paying £52 million on Monday for AS Monaco’s Benjamin Mendy in a world record deal for a defender.
Mendy’s arrival came just days after the £26.5 million capture of Danilo from Real Madrid.
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England rightback Kyle Walker cost City £50 million from Tottenham Hotspur as Guardiola took just 10 days to spend £128 million on three fullbacks.
A £42 million offer persuaded AS Monaco to sell Bernardo Silva to City, while Douglas Luiz moved to Eastlands from CR Vasco da Gama for £10 million.
Throw in Guardiola’s £34 million swoop for SL Benfica goalkeeper Ederson and the Spaniard has already splashed out £215 million.
That eclipsed the record spending total for a British club in a single transfer period, racing past the £168 million mark which, not surprisingly, was also set by Guardiola last season.
City seem certain to shatter the £221.5 million forked out by Real Madrid in the summer of 2009, which is the biggest outlay in one transfer window.
Guardiola would love to land £50 million-rated Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez — who is refusing to extend a contract that expires in 12 months’ time — by the time the Premier League begins on Aug. 11.
Keen not to be left behind by City, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has been pressuring Blues owner Roman Abramovich to back his demand for major investment ahead of his side’s return to the Champions League after a one-year absence.
So far, Chelsea have spent more than £120 million, with their headline deals a £58 million move for Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata and a £34 million swoop for Monaco’s Tiemoue Bakayoko.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho had to pay a British record £75 million to beat his former club Chelsea to secure the signature of Everton’s Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku.
That deal, following the £31 million signing of Benfica’s Victor Lindelof, moved United over the £100 million mark.
Arsene Wenger’s decision to extend his 21-year tenure at Arsenal after a turbulent season has persuaded Gunners owner Stan Kroenke to sanction the club record £52 million signing of Olympique Lyonnais striker Alexandre Lacazette.
Liverpool also broke their transfer record, paying £37 million for AS Roma winger Mohamed Salah.
In a perfect encapsulation of the Premier League’s spending power, even Everton, notoriously careful with their finances in the past, have paid more than £90 million as they lured Wayne Rooney, Michael Keane and Jordan Pickford, among others, to Goodison Park.
Newly promoted Huddersfield Town and Newcastle United have both spent more than £30 million already, while only Tottenham and Stoke City have yet to get the checkbook out.
While some look at the astronomical fees being paid and wonder if the desire of English clubs to flex their financial muscles could one day prove fatal for some of the less historically successful teams, Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore said that the spree remains sustainable.
“Profitability is improving. The most important thing is player costs as a percentage of turnover,” Scudamore said last week. “We’re down in the early 60 percents and we were much higher 10 years ago. Sixty percent of turnover spent on player costs is actually very manageable.”
Scudamore’s message is carry on spending and there is little doubt his league will rise to the challenge.
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