£725m
With a day of trading to go, the Premier League’s grip on financial reality has never been more relaxed. Driven by the £5.5bn TV deal, clubs’ spending in this window has already passed £725m, with £360m spent in the first two months alone. Total transfer fees last summer, including the £140m spent on deadline day, were £630m – which was, to that point, a record. The pace of the inflation has been swift: in 2003, the summer’s total spend was £215m. All of these figures exclude wages.
£59.7m
Ángel di María’s record fee relieved some of the burden on Fernando Torres, whose £50m tag still haunts him. It also gave new life to an old debate: how much is too much? Ever since Villa made Willie Groves the first £100 player, in 1893, football’s excess has been a talking point, rekindled every few years by landmark spending moments such as 1979’s £1.18m (including VAT) move for Trevor Francis, and the £15m Newcastle paid for Alan Shearer in 1996. “It’s a signing for the people of Newcastle,” said Kevin Keegan. “It just shows: we’re the biggest-thinking team in Europe.”
State of the nations
37 nationalities have been involved in incoming Premier League transfers so far this summer.
42 Englishmen have been bought, with World Cup finalists Argentina the next best represented, with 10. Eight French players have moved, eight Spaniards, seven Scots and six from the Netherlands. Among other countries to feature: Zimbabwe, Algeria, Iceland, Costa Rica and Senegal.
The summer’s big winners?
Agents were paid a record £96m by Premier League clubs in 2013, with 2014’s figure set to be higher still. Among the most eye-catching deals so far was the reported £14.2m share given to Eliaquim Mangala’s agent after his client joined Manchester City.
Britain’s all-time top five transfers
Ángel di María £59.7m 2014, Real Madrid to Man United
Fernando Torres £50m 2011, Liverpool to Chelsea
Mesut Özil £42.4m 2013, Real Madrid to Arsenal
Sergio Agüero £38m 2011, Atlético Madrid to Man City
Juan Mata £37.1m 2014, Chelsea to Man United
Biggest Premier League signings in this window
Ángel di María £59.7m Real Madrid to Man United
Alexis Sánchez £30m Barcelona to Arsenal
Eliaquim Mangala £32m Real Madrid to Man United
Diego Costa £32m Atlético Madrid to Chelsea
Cesc Fábregas £30m Barcelona to Chelsea
Ander Herrera £29m Athletic Bilbao to Man United
Romelu Lukaku £28m Chelsea to Everton
Luke Shaw £27m Southampton to Man United
Adam Lallana £25m Southampton to Liverpool
Dejan Lovren £20m Southampton to Liverpool
Biggest non-Premier League summer signings
Luis Suárez £75m Liverpool to Barcelona
James Rodríguez £63m Monaco to Real Madrid
David Luiz £50m Chelsea to PSG
Toni Kroos £24m Bayern Munich to Real Madrid
Antoine Griezmann £24m R Sociedad to Atlético Madrid
Mehdi Benatia £24m Roma to Bayern Munich
Mario Mandzukic £17.5m Bayern Munich to Atlético Madrid
Juan Iturbe £17.4m Verona to Roma
Álvaro Morata £15.8m Real Madrid to Juventus
Jérémy Mathieu £15.8m Valencia to Barcelona