‘Big 5’ markets spend record $466 million in winter transfer window – FIFA

FIFA’s analysis of the 2014-15 winter window for the “Big 5” countries has shown a record $466 million spent on transfer fees.

According to  FIFA’s Transfer Matching System  (FIFA TMS), research from England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain showed that while there was a two percent decrease in activity (452 incoming international transfers) compared to the same period last year, spending increased by 36 percent.

England’s Premier League was by far the top spender with $173 million, followed by Germany’s Bundesliga with a spending level of $116 million. In contrast, France’s Ligue 1 clubs spent 50 percent less in the most recent window compared to last year.

In total, 79 percent of the 452 transfers came from countries outside the “Big 5,” with the top three nationalities sought out being British (54), Spanish (44) and French (36).

Two big January deals saw Andre Schurrle move to Wolfsburg with Fiorentina’s Juan Cuadadro replacing him at Chelsea.

The Premier League is set to continue its dominance in terms of spending following a 70 percent increase in the value of its British television rights  for the 2016-19 seasons.

Sky and BT are paying a combined 5.136 billion pounds ($7.8 billion) to show games, with the broadcasters paying more than 10 million pounds ($15.2 million) to screen each game.

Meanwhile the  Bundesliga announced in January it had achieved a record turnover for the 10th year in a row , with numbers going up by 124.8 percent since 2004 and 13 of the 18 top-flight clubs posting a profit last season.

DELOITTE MONEY LEAGUE — 10 RICHEST TEAMS (2013-14)

1. Real Madrid, £459.5 million
2. Manchester United, £433.2 million
3. Bayern Munich, £407.7 million
4. Barcelona, £405.2 million
5. Paris Saint-Germain, £396.5 million
6. Manchester City, £346.5 million
7. Chelsea, £324.4 million
8. Arsenal, £300.5 million
9. Liverpool, £255.8 million
10. Juventus, £233.6 million
The German league is set to receive another cash injection in the summer of 2015 when new international TV contracts kick in, more than doubling the marketing figures abroad from 70 million euros to 150 million euros.