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LONDON: English soccer — and Liverpool, in particular — flexed their financial muscles in unprecedented fashion in a summer transfer window that highlighted the growing imbalance in the European game as well as the effect player power can have in securing a move.
Here’s what we learned from the last two months in the transfer market:
English dominance
The raw facts are that the 20 clubs in the Premier League — fueled by unrivaled spending power because of the competition’s huge domestic and international broadcasting deals — splashed out a record total of $4 billion on players in the summer window. That outlay is more than Europe’s other four top leagues — Spain, Italy, Germany, France — combined.
The previous single-window record spend was 2.36 billion pounds (now $3.2 billion) in 2023.
More pertinently, the Premier League’s net spend was $1.75 billion, compared to Italy ($100 million) and Spain ($60 million), according to figures by Transfermarkt. France and Germany even returned a profit.
An attempt by Europe’s top clubs to launch a Super League in 2021 collapsed within 48 hours.
Perhaps there already is one — it’s called the Premier League.
Liverpool go big
Leading the unprecedented spending in the Premier League were Liverpool, whose outlay of $570 million was the biggest ever by one club in single window.
The English champions broke the British transfer record twice — first for Germany playmaker Florian Wirtz and then on deadline day when Sweden striker Alexander Isak joined from Newcastle for $170 million, making him the fourth most expensive player in soccer history.
Liverpool could afford such outrageous spending because the club bought only one player last summer — Federico Chiesa for 10 million pounds ($13.2 million) — while making a net profit of more than $50 million as Arne Slot leaned on the squad bequeathed by Jurgen Klopp to win the Premier League in his first season in charge.
This summer, the Reds have received about $250 million from sales, too. While their signings look strong on paper, their ability to recoup money for players is equally as impressive. For that, they’ve often looked to ����ֱ�� for a bail-out, with Darwin Nunez the latest to move there.
Player power
It was a summer when some players went on the front foot in pushing for moves, using Instagram Stories — rather than making an old-fashioned transfer request — to demonstrate their unhappiness at their clubs
That was exactly the tactic of Isak, who effectively went on strike at Newcastle while he agitated for a move to Liverpool. Newcastle confronted Isak, going public itself with a bold and rare statement challenging one of its star players, but eventually gave in.
Wissa used the same approach, posting about his disgruntlement with Brentford just a day before the transfer window shut having not trained with the squad for weeks. He got his move late on deadline day, too, as a replacement for Isak at Newcastle.
Contrast that, for example, with the attitude of Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, who reportedly had his heart set on a move to Liverpool and kept playing for his team while the subject of a bid from the Reds. Palace couldn’t find a replacement and Guehi stayed — likely earning respect from fans in the process.
England vs. Europe
English soccer’s runaway revenue is a trend that’s set to accelerate in European club competitions.
The Premier League has a record six teams in the Champions League’s 36-team lineup helped by 17th-place Tottenham winning the Europa League last season.
Those six teams can realistically expect to earn collective UEFA prize money of about 600 million euros ($698 million) — more than the entire prize fund of the second-tier Europa League which will be shared among 36 clubs from 23 different countries. They include Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest taking more UEFA cash back to England.
The wealth gap within the Champions League is already huge.
Liverpool’s sixth-highest transfer fee paid this offseason — 31 million euros ($36 million) for Italian teenager Giovanni Leoni as a back-up defender — is more than the entire reported revenue last year of one of their Champions League opponents, Qarabag of Azerbaijan.
Union Saint-Gilloise and Slavia Prague qualified direct to the Champions League by winning their domestic league titles and could plan their offseason business accordingly.
Still, Union have turned a profit of 50 million euros ($58 million) on player trading and their biggest buy was just 5 million euros ($5.8 million), for Austria winger Raul Florucz from Olimpija Ljubljana.
Slavia Prague have made a profit of 25 million euros ($29 million) with the biggest fee paid 3.5 million euros ($4 million) for Czech midfielder Michal Sadílek from Dutch club Twente.
Same competition, different financial world.
And what about Wrexham?
Wrexham’s march to the Premier League shows no sign of slowing — their dealings in the transfer window is proof of that.
The Welsh club spent $40 million this summer on new players, repeatedly breaking their transfer record in a ruthless spree overseen by their Hollywood celebrity owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
The squad for this season’s campaign in the second-tier Championship looks unrecognizable compared to the one they had three years ago, when the team were playing in the fifth tier.
Wrexham may have had a tough start to their Championship campaign, winning one of their first four games, but a fourth straight promotion still seems possible.

DUBAI: Dubai Basketball have welcomed their first major signing of the summer, Dzanan Musa, one of Europe’s brightest basketball stars.

The Bosnian forward arrives in Dubai with a reputation for excellence, spanning two EuroLeague championships and multiple domestic titles in Spain and beyond.

Musa brings with him not only world-class talent but also a winning mentality shaped during his time at Real Madrid, one of Europe’s most decorated clubs.

Speaking on his move, Musa expressed his excitement at joining the Dubai side.

“A lot of motivation. The new team, the chance to make history with one team, it’s a big motivation for me,” he said.

“I feel like the people around the project are very good. I feel like we’re one big family, so it’s like we have a lot of things to be joyful for, and I feel like if we’re going to do the things right, we can make big things.”

Known for his leadership, Musa shared that being entrusted with the role is both an honor and a challenge he is ready to embrace.

“When they called me at the beginning and told me that they want me to be a leader on the court and off the court, that’s something that every player wants to hear,” he said. “Especially now that we’re going to play EuroLeague, to be the face of the team in the EuroLeague is something that every player wants. I feel like we will do great things.”

Musa also acknowledged the passionate support of Dubai’s fans, saying: “I was watching the last two months of the Dubai basketball, every game, especially against Partizan — the fans were unbelievable. The arena is brand new — it looks brand new, something that is very helpful for the players. But at the end of the day, we need them to support us, and we need to build something here. We need to build the culture of basketball here, and I feel like we have an opportunity to do that. We just need the people of Dubai to understand that the big things are coming.”

As he begins his journey in Dubai, Musa has his eyes set on inspiring the next generation and etching his name in the city’s sporting history.

“To win a lot of EuroLeague titles with Dubai, for sure, and to be somebody that the kids continue to look up to and to be the right example for everybody else on the court and off the court, to fight for this jersey like every day is the last day. So I’m very happy to start this journey,” he added.

Musa now joins a growing roster of elite international talent at Dubai Basketball, as the club prepares for its historic debut in the EuroLeague and an awaited return to the ABA League.