CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report n°47 - September 2019
Financial analysis of the transfer market in the big-5 European leagues (2010-2019)
Drs Raffaele Poli, Loïc Ravenel and Roger Besson
1. Introduction
Since its creation in 2005, the CIES Football Observatory has been monitoring the transfer of players through information published by clubs and the media. The 47th edition of the Monthly Report analyses from a financial per- spective paid transactions having taken place since 2010 which involved teams from the five major European championships: the English Premier League, the Spanish Liga, the German Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A and the French Ligue 1. In four chapters, the study analyses the sums paid in transfer indemnities by big-5 league teams, the clubs and championships who benefited from these investments, the net balance sheets for both teams and leagues, as well as inflation observed year by year since 2010. The latter is calculated on the basis of the exclusive CIES Football Observatory trans- fer value algorithm. The figures published in this report include fixed indemnities for permanent transfers, eventual add-ons, as well as sums invested for paying loans. The amounts paid in the case of loans with an obligation to buy are computed for the year of the transfer. Within the limits of the information available, the data on the beneficiaries take into account the resale per- centages negotiated by former clubs.
1 Monthly Report 47 - Financial analysis of the transfer market in the big-5 European leagues
2. Investments Figure 1: big-5 league club transfer fee investments, € million
A new record for spending was recorded in ear S mmer nter otal
2019: €6.6 billion. This sum is almost a 10% in- 2010 1 94 14 1 42 crease over the previous record of 2017. In ten 2011 1 1 22 2 years, the investments in transfer indemnities carried out by big-5 league clubs have grown 2012 1 2 7 1 9 by more than four times. In only two cases, in 201 2 2 7 2 71 2012 and 2018, were the amounts paid out less 2014 2 14 90 2 904
than those for the preceding year. 201 7 4 4 1 In 2019, a new spending record was estab- 201 7 01 4 2 4 lished in three of the leagues studied: the Liga, 2017 279 7 0 4
the Serie A and the Bundesliga. As for the pre- 201 4 7 1 040 0 vious nine years, English clubs invested the 2019 7 7 22 most for the recruitment of new players: €1.9 billion. Over the last decade, transfer indem- nity investments of Premier League teams ac- counted for 35.8% of the total measured for Figure 2: transfer fee investments by league, the big-5. This proportion has decreased since € million two years in line with the decision to close the E ES I ER FR summer transfer window before the opening of the season. 2010 47 0 41 17 1 9 2011 4 4 1 4 217 207
2012 722 17 4 09 2 4
201 922 4 7 79 11 447
2014 1 2 47 0 2
201 1 04 29 49 499 70
201 1 774 07 71 2
2017 2 09 79 1 2 2 797 1 117
201 2 1 2 1 292 1 1 7 1 79
2019 1 90 1 0 1 00 0 0
2 Monthly Report 47 - Financial analysis of the transfer market in the big-5 European leagues
The rankings of clubs having invested the Figure 3: transfer fee investments by club, most in transfer fees since 2010 demonstrate € million (2010-2019) the incredible financial clout of a handful of 1 Man hester C ty FC E 1 dominant teams. While no club has spent as much as Manchester City, eight other teams 2 FC ar elona ES 1 2 have invested more than a billion euro over Chelsea FC E 1 42 ten years. All of the Champions League final- 4 ar s St- erma n FC FR 1 92
ists since 2005 are part of the twenty teams vent s FC I 1 272 having spent the most over the past decade. Man hester n te FC E 1 2
In 2019, three Spanish teams were at the top of 7 Real Ma r CF ES 1 2
the rankings for clubs having spent the most Cl b tl t o e Ma r ES 1 110 on transfer indemnities. This finding reflects a 9 verpool FC E 1 07 cyclical need for squad renewal, but also the availability of considerable financial possibili- 10 Interna onale M lano FC I 9 ties linked to the establishment of the Span- 11 S Roma I 9 ish top division as the second most powerful 12 S Mona o FR 2
league on the planet after the English Premier 1 M lan C I League. 14 rsenal FC E 0
1 ottenham otsp r FC E 7
1 Everton FC E 7 2
17 FC ayern M n hen ER 727
1 09 or ss a ortm n ER 702
19 SSC apol I 9
20 alen a CF ES 11
Figure 4: transfer fee investments by club, € million (2019)
1 Cl b tl t o e Ma r ES 29
2 Real Ma r CF ES 24