Bundesliga spends record sums – and profits from Premier League
The German Bundesliga has invested a record high of 513 million euros ($573 million) in new players in the summer transfer period – and also profited the most from the big-spending Premier League.
The Bundesliga’s 18 top-flight teams have spent well over the previous highest of 300 million euros which were invested the previous pre-season.
Spending is still almost a third of the English Premier League’s outgoings this summer until Wednesday’s transfer deadline, and also ranks behind Italy’s Serie A.
But of the foreign leagues, Germany has profited the most from the Premier League’s outgoings of some 1.4 billion euros.
According to calculations from transfermarkt.de, 190.2 million euros has gone from English clubs into the Bundesliga for new players, swelled by the top transfers of Leroy Sane (Schalke to Manchester City for 50 million), Granit Xhaka (Borussia Moenchengladbach to Arsenal for 45 million) or Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United for 42 million).
Bundesliga managers have come to learn that if one of their English counterparts are on the phone the cash tills are ringing; the same player would move for a lot less within Germany.
Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke told WAZ in a recent interview that he had himself been surprised by the money offered for Mkhitaryan.
Dortmund had been unwilling to sell the Armenia midfielder. “I had been going on a sum of around 25 million euros. And then came this offer, there was no alternative…,” he said.
Dortmund have in fact been the biggest spenders, with 108.7 million euros invested on eight new signings, including Mario Goetze, returning from Bayern Munich, and midfielder Andre Schuerrle, who cost 30 million euros, from Wolfsburg.
Dortmund’s shopping tour was offset by the 106 million euros that came in through the sales of Mkhitaryan, Mats Hummels and Ilkay Guendogan.
Champions Bayern Munich were next up in the spending chart with 70 million – for central defender Hummels from Dortmund and Portugal teenager Renato Sanches – for a combined 70 million euros, followed by promoted RB Leipzig (45.5), and Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen (both more than 40).
Wolfsburg were busy buying and selling, with the likes of Mario Gomez, Jeffrey Bruma and Jakub Blaszczykowski and arriving, while 37.5 million euros was accrued for Schuerrle and Max Kruse to Werder Bremen.
The transfer window saw young Germany striker Sane become the most expensive German player in history in his move to Manchester City for 48 million euros plus bonuses.
Schalke meanwhile spent a club record 22.5 million euros on striker talent Breel Embolo and have strengthened with late moves for Benjamin Stambouli from Paris Saint-Germain and loan deals for midfielders Nabil Bentaleb from Tottenham Hotspur and Evgeny Konoplyanka from Sevilla.
There was the usual late flurry of transfer activity before Wednesday’s deadline, something some in the league would like a stop to.
Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking said: “I would approve greatly of a shorter transfer period up to July 31. When important players you have actually planned with are torn away it gets incredibly difficult.”
The spiralling transfer sums are also a cause for concern.
Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel said: “The (transfer) sums are no longer in any relation to the people who come to the stadiums to watch a game.
“If it’s all just about money and transactions we will lose the relationship to the people.”
Source: GNA