A new transfer strategy?
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The Premier League has undoubtedly built a long-standing reputation for being the richest league in European football. So far this summer, the English top-flight has far outspent its continental rivals by paying no less than €2.1 billion on new players to date. That, remarkably, is more than what Serie A, LaLiga and the Bundesliga have spent on new players combined this summer (€1.8bn) and the disparity between Europe’s richest league and the rest looks only set to grow in the years to come.
However, the strength of the English top-flight isn’t just in the money it spends on new players. While the perceived wisdom has often been that English transfer budgets tend to end up in bank accounts on the continent or further afield, that seems to have changed in recent seasons. This summer’s window is a perfect example of that, with the Premier League also raking in a remarkable €1.1bn from player sales too, which is again notably higher than any other top European league, with second-placed Serie A earning just €822m in comparison.
Indeed, while the Premier League is certainly the biggest spender in the modern game, it has also become the biggest earner in the transfer window too. And when we take a look back through the last 10 seasons we can quickly see why the English top-flight has had to adjust its budgets to make sure it dominates the European sport in terms of highest spending but also in terms of highest income from player sales.
How the Premier League learned to profit from the transfer window
As we can see in the graph above, the Premier League’s income from player sales in the post-COVID era has truly come on leaps and bounds. From a low of just €454m in player sales throughout the 2020/21 season, income earned across the top-flight clubs from selling players has risen each season by a remarkable 300% to a high of €1.8bn in sales last season. And, according to Transfermarkt’s own information, the €1.1bn English clubs have so far earned in player sales this summer is the highest ever recorded figure at this stage of the summer window, surpassing last year’s record figure of €893m.
So why have English clubs suddenly become far better at making huge sums of money from the transfer window? Perhaps the easiest way to explain that is by taking a look at which clubs have profited the most from player sales. As we can see in the table below, which shows which clubs have earned the most income from player sales over the last five seasons, it tends to break down into two major groupings: the Premier League’s smart big clubs and the mid-table clubs that have built business models around developing and selling players.
For example, Chelsea and Manchester City alone make up a sizable chunk of the income Premier League clubs have generated since the start of the 2021/22 season. Combined, their income from player sales works out at €1.47bn, which also equates to a staggering 23% of all income generated by the league in that period of time. This is partly due to the sale of big names like Eden Hazard (who joined Real Madrid for €121m in 2019) and Julián Alvarez (who joined Atlético Madrid for €75m in 2024), but is mostly down to both clubs running extensive operations that allows them to sign dozens of young prospects each season and then sell them on when they come of age for a profit. Prior to this season, Man City’s income from selling academy players stood at €433m (read more here) and Chelsea’s own figure stood at €479m (read more here).
Another big club that have made selling players a vital part of their business model is Liverpool. As we can see, the Anfield club sit sixth among all English clubs for player sales in the last five seasons but sit third among all clubs across Europe for player sales this summer, having earned €133m from selling first team players like Luis Díaz and Jarell Quansah. Whether it be Sadio Mané (sold for €32m), Fabinho (€46.7m), Sepp van den Berg (€23.6m) or Fábio Carvalho (€23.4m), Liverpool have become experts at extracting the maximum amount of money from the transfer window for players that had since been deemed surplus to requirements.
The other factor that is fuelling this shift in transfer strategy from the league is the rise of smart mid-table clubs, like Bournemouth, Wolves but most notably Brighton. Since winning promotion to the English top-flight in 2017, the Seagulls have coupled success on the pitch with vast profits off it, earning an impressive €578m from player sales in that time. Examples like Ben White’s €59m move to Arsenal in 2021, Moisés Caicedo’s move to Chelsea for €116m in 2023 or indeed João Pedro’s move to the Stamford Bridge club this summer for €64m, all come to mind to underline the point that Brighton are the perfect example of a new breed of English clubs that have gamed the transfer window to their advantage in recent years.
Underpinning much of these numbers is also a growing trend among the league’s richest clubs of turning to proven players within the top-flight, rather than signing players from other European leagues. According to Transfermarkt information, 21% of all players signed by Premier League clubs this summer have come from other English top-flight clubs, which is an increase on last season’s figure of 20% and, as we can see in the graph above, shows a growing trend of Premier League clubs spending more and more of their budget on players within the league.
This is evident to see from this summer’s activity, with eight of the top 10 biggest sales among Premier League clubs involving players moving to other English clubs, such as Rayan Aït-Nouri moving from Wolves to Man City, Milos Kerkez moving from Bournemouth to Liverpool and Man Utd signing Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo from Wolves and Brentford respectively. Not to mention the prospect of Alexander Isak moving from Newcastle to Liverpool for a league record transfer fee.
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Whether these trends continue in the coming years remains to be seen, but thanks to smart mid-table clubs, the profits earned from well-run academies at Chelsea and Man City, as well as the new premium placed on players that have already proven their credentials in the league, clubs within the Premier League have never made more money from player sales. And, as such, the English top-flight continues to dominate the transfer market in terms of money spent and money earned.
