The English Premier League FFP policy came into force in 2013/14season. The clubs cannot make loss in excess of £105m across a period of three years. Though, this figure is still valid after years. The summer transfer window has just closed. If we take a look on UK inflation in last 10years, £105m will now be approx £150m today. Therefore, what might cost you £105m in 2014 will now be around £150m today.
Let us peep into the fee paid in 2013/14 season first as per transfermarkt. English clubs spent a total of €924.4m with a net spend of around €518.1m. The highest transfer that season was Mesut Ozil to Arsenal for €47m. The highest transfer received was €101m for Gareth Bale from Tottenham.
Now, let us review this season’s summer spending. English clubs have spent a humongous sum of €2.9b. The total net spend is around €1.3b. The highest transfer fee paid is again the Gunners paving way for Declan Rice for €116.6m. Another London based club, Chelsea waved a sum of €116m for Moises Caicedo.
Newcastle have been active as well with a net expense of €108.60m. Moreover, this 2013/14 figures are for the whole season including winter transfers. While this season accounts only for the summer window. If we look at the expenditure, Premier League clubs have shelled out approx 3.03 times the amount spent 10 years ago.
This summer has shown that FFP isn’t having any impact on creating a level playing field, which was clearly not the original objective. It needs a full review but the clubs at the top table do not want to relinquish their grip of the EPL magic money tree. The question has to be asked, how can a figure established 10 years ago be relevant for today’s transfer market?
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