In the summer of 2011, nearly £500 million was spent in the Premier League transfer window. This was roughly a 30% increase from the summer of 2010 transfer window. In the January 2012 window, an additional £58.3 million was spent, though this was significantly down from the £225 million spent in the January 2011 transfer window. There is still a lot of money floating around in the Premier League, even if the clubs did significantly hold back from splurging on players this winter.
Has the signings made by the clubs, shown any return on interest of any notable description? Or has a large chunk of this money been panic buying, spending ridiculous fees on players?
It would seem that clubs have been spending for the latter reason for some time now, though considering the newly imposed UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations which came into effect at the start of this season and the lack of spending in January 2012, it appears that reckless spending might have just hit a dead-end. The whole Carlos Tevez affair, with two of the biggest clubs in AC Milan and Manchester City failing to come to a financial agreement with each other, signifies just how things might just be starting to change.
Will We See A Busy Summer 2012?
Unfortunately for guys like Andy Carroll and Fernando Torres, they might have been the last players to have been judged on such inflated price tags, and have become catalysts for the fans’s despair at just how financially focused the beautiful game has become. It’s not their fault that they were signed for huge transfer fees, they are simply walking adverts for the Premier League’s wasted wealth.
So has crazy football transfer fees stopped for good? may be not, but the UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations may have gone some way to curbing the spending habits of the nouveau riche clubs. But, at the end of the season, if a club like Manchester City seal the Premier League title, what message will that send out to the rest of the football world? It certainly wouldn’t be a quiet summer this year.
The WAGs probably have enough money on their credit cards to bail out a number of the lower league clubs going into administration. The FFP regulations must restore balance in the football universe.
