Since the Premier League was re-formatted in 1992, it has been one of the most watched divisions in world football. Top players have flocked from every corner of the world to strut their stuff in the English top-flight. It has also (certainly in more recent years) become the richest league in the world, splashing out the most money on transfers. The Premier League currently commands a market value of €11.54 billion from its 20 clubs. The next most valuable league is La Liga at just €5b.
Since 2020, Premier League clubs have spent €10.06b on new signings. Over double the amount of any other league. But where does all the money go? Excluding in-house transfers between two Premier League clubs, here at Transfermarkt, we have calculated the other leagues to which Premier League clubs have paid the most money to for players since the 1992/93 season. There are certainly some surprises!
The Leagues Premier League Clubs Have Spent Most Money on Players From
The league in which Premier League teams have spent the most money on players stays within the confines of the country. The Championship or the First Division as it was known until the 2003/04 season tops the list. Since 1992, Premier League teams have spent a whopping €3.44b on players from the English second tier. Archie Gray was the latest to make a big money move between those two leagues, trading Leeds for Tottenham in a €41.25m deal. In total as many as 765 players have moved from the Championship/First Division to the Premier League.
The next league on the list is Ligue 1, with €3.03b spent by Premier League clubs from players from the French top-flight. As many as 309 players have swapped Ligue 1 for the Premier League, with the record deal being Nicolas Pépé’s €80m move from Nice to Arsenal back in 2019. Next up it’s La Liga with 217 signings equating to €2.94b spent in transfer fees – the most expensive deal being Chelsea’s €80m acquisition of Athletic Club keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga in 2018. In fourth is Serie A with €2.43b spent on 203 players. The top deal is Chelsea re-signing Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for €113m.
Completing the top five is the Bundesliga with €2.32b on 164 players including the record €90m deal between Manchester City and RB Leipzig for Josko Gvardiol last summer. In sixth is Liga Portugal with Premier League clubs spending €1.44b on 103 players. Then it’s the Netherlands’ Eredivisie with a total of €1.43b spent on 147 players. In eighth is the Belgian Jupiler Pro League with €499m spent on 68 players since 1992. Ninth goes to the first league outside of Europe in the Brazilian Serie A – €352m spent on 39 players. Concluding the top 10 is the Scottish Premiership with 99 players going to the Premier League but only for €340m in total.
Sourced from; Transfermarkt.com
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