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Sport

UEFA warns of 'two-speed' transfer market as Premier League clubs spend €4.6bn

UEFA says Premier League clubs' estimated €4.6bn summer transfer spend — more than the next eight European countries combined — is creating 'a clear two-speed system' in the market.

By Tom Ellery · · 2 min read

UEFA has warned that the enormous spending of Premier League clubs is creating “a clear two-speed system” in the European transfer market.

In its latest European club talent and competition landscape report, released this week, European football’s governing body estimated that Premier League clubs spent €4.6bn (£4bn) on transfers this summer — “larger than that of the next eight largest European countries combined”.

Andrea Traverso, UEFA’s executive director of finance, said the trend “raises concerns”. “Transfer values continue to rise sharply, particularly in the English market, increasing future pressure on club financial results,” he wrote, adding that the figures pointed to “a growing polarisation of the market, with the emergence of a clear two-speed system”.

The report found English clubs were involved in more than 60% of all transfer deals and paid an average of around €24m (£20.7m) per inbound player — roughly five times the €4m (£3.4m) to €5m (£4.3m) average in Europe’s other major leagues. This summer’s outlay was equivalent to 56% of the 20 Premier League clubs’ annual revenue, far above the 33% average recorded across the pre-Covid decade.

Much of the money stayed in England: fees on transfers between English clubs rose 44% to €1.55bn (£1.33bn), making the domestic English market as large in fee value as the next five market flows combined. The next most lucrative flow was from Germany’s Bundesliga to the Premier League, worth €690m (£594m).

The top end of the market has accelerated fastest: 35 European transfers topped €50m this summer, up from 23 in 2025 and 14 in the summer of 2024, with Premier League clubs responsible for 29 of them.

Traverso warned that any “correction in transfer values” or “slowdown in buyer demand” could have serious implications for any club carrying debt, describing “a more fragile model” that has left clubs “increasingly dependent on continued market inflation and liquidity”.

Sources

More on this topic: all Sport stories

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