Television money has fuelled a rise in transfer spending by English clubs from £300 million sterling last summer to more than £500 million (€739,000).
The figures, which include all Premier League and Football League clubs, come from Deloitte, which attributes the 60 per cent rise in spending to the huge increase in broadcasting revenue from the start of the 2007-08 season and new owners buying into Premier League clubs.
"On a net transfer basis, Premier League clubs spent around £140 million more in 2007 than 2006, well below the increase in broadcast payments they will receive this season," said Paul Rawnsley, a director in Deloitte's Sports Business Group.
"We expect total player wages to also increase but by a much lower proportion than the 80 per cent rise in gross transfer spending this summer."
Despite winning the Premier League last season, Manchester United were the biggest spenders during 2007, shelling out £51 million on players.
They were closely followed by Liverpool (£50 million), while Tottenham spent £40 million in their quest for Champions League qualification and newly promoted Sunderland spent £35 million.
Real Madrid were 2007's biggest spenders in Europe, with an outlay of around £80 million, while Thierry Henry's transfer from Arsenal to Barcelona pushed the Catalan team's spending up to around the £50 million mark.
Both the Spanish giants benefit from being able to negotiate their own broadcast deals, while Premier League clubs operate collectively.
In Britain, Football League clubs received around £110 million in transfer fees from top-flight sides, almost three times more than the 2003 figure of £40 million.