Soccer:Football finance experts believe Uefa's new financial fair play rules were behind the 70 per cent fall in spending to £60million (€72 million) during the January transfer window.
Last year spending reached unparalleled levels, with a record £225 million spent by Premier League clubs according to business analysts Deloitte.
While Chelsea spent £50million to acquire Liverpool’s Fernando Torres 12 months ago, the biggest single transaction this year was Papiss Demba Cisse’s move to Newcastle for a reported £9 million fee.
Experts believe the more subdued January spending this year was due to clubs showing financial prudence ahead of the new fair play regulations, which stipulate that clubs in European competition will only be allowed to spend what they earn.
“After last year’s bout of big-money transfers that drove the record total spend of £225 million, January 2012 has seen a more sober level of spending amongst Premier League clubs,” said Dan Jones, a partner in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
“In the decade since the introduction of transfer windows, January has typically been a relatively quiet window with total spending driven by a few high-value transfers, as was certainly the case with the chain of events on last year’s deadline day.
“The £60 million spent in January 2012 is back to a similar level as the January windows in 2004 to 2007, and still ahead of the investment in players by top-division clubs in other European leagues.”
Jones added: “As clubs are now in the reporting period that will count towards the first assessment for Uefa’s financial fair play break-even requirement, their comparative restraint is indicative of an overriding reflection on spending levels.
“The focus on football’s future financial sustainability is more prevalent in Europe than at any time in the past 20 years and, going forward, we remain keen to see that translated into a better balance between revenue and expenditure.”
Deloitte’s findings showed Premier League clubs concluded £30 million worth of business on deadline day, much lower than the £135 million spent during the same period last year.
Top spenders Chelsea, QPR and Newcastle together contributed more than half of the total spending, although no player moved for more than £15 million compared to six such deals in 2011.
Premier League clubs have spent £925 million on transfers in the decade that January transfer windows have been in operation.
The average transfer spending during the window in that period is equivalent to around one-fifth of the total spent each year and Jones predicts a busy summer ahead.
“Whilst it’s been a relatively sparse January, we can again expect an active summer window following Euro 2012,” he added.
“The global popularity of the English game helps drive continuing growth for Premier League clubs’ revenues, with transfer spending further supplemented from the pockets of some owners.”
