September 9 – The recently closed transfer window may have been a 10% drop on spending compared to last year, but it was still the second highest of all-time (€10.96 billion in 2024 vs €12.24 billion in 2023).
It continues a 10-year trend of European dominance that has seen the Big 5 league account for 69.4% of all transfer spending worldwide.
The total dominance of the Big 5 leagues in Europe, and the Premier League within those leagues, is laid bare in a CIES Football Observatory report that analyses transfer fee payments made by clubs on a global scale over the last decade.
“In each of the ten seasons analysed, the proportion of their spending has been close to or greater than two-thirds, although there was a slight drop in 2023 and 2024. This decrease can be explained primarily by the rise of Saudi Arabia (especially in 2023) and the financial tightening in Spain,” says the report.
Transfer fees peaked in 2019 at €9.99 billion, dropping back during the global covid crisis before breaking the 2019 record in 2023.
While the European leagues dominate, they in turn are dominated by the Premier League who account for 28.1% of the total over the 10-year period (€23.02 billion transfer fees).
Italy’s Serie A clubs were the next highest spenders at €10.84 billion. The English Championship is in sixth place (€2.55 billion) while the Saudi Pro League (€2.09 billion) tops the list for leagues outside Europe.
The CIES figures rank the net spending of the 20 leagues whose clubs have committed the most transfer fees from a high of +€2.34 billion for the Portuguese Primeira Liga to a low of -€11.54 billion for the English Premier League. The English Championship (+€1.50 billion) has the second-best record, just ahead of the Eredivisie and the Brasileirão.
Looking at clubs, the report highlights Chelsea who “stand out from the crowd in terms of spending over the last decade (€2.78 billion). This is 42% more than the next clubs having invested the most: Manchester City and Manchester United.”
Half of the teams in the top 20 are from the Premier League, alongside four Italian, three Spanish, two French and one German.
To see the full report, click here.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1749353371labto1749353371ofdlr1749353371owedi1749353371sni@n1749353371osloh1749353371cin.l1749353371uap1749353371