Walter Finch
La Liga chiefs have slammed the Premier League for ‘cheating’ after an insane January transfer window that saw English clubs splurge almost €1 billion.
La Liga’s corporate general director, Javier Gomez, made the comments after a study by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group found that Chelsea alone was responsible for 37% of the €918,000,000 spent.
The spending by the London club, recently purchased by American billionaire Todd Boehly and a consortium of investors, surpassed the combined spending of all clubs in the top flights of Spain, Italy, Germany and France combined.
Chelsea managed to clinch the signing of Argentine World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for a British-record £106.8m (€120m) on deadline day after beating fellow London club Arsenal to the signing of winger Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth £88.5m (€100m).
In light of such profligacy, Gomez has called on UEFA to take action and prevent clubs from spending more than they can afford.
He stated that the influx of money from shareholders is ‘doping the club’ and puts its viability at risk if the shareholder decides to leave.
He has argued that the practice drags down the rest of the leagues and calls for a new economic regulation that prevents shareholders from putting in more money than the club can generate.
In the 2022-23 season, Premier League clubs spent a total of £2.8bn ($3.5bn), breaking the previous record set in 2017-18.
This is a drastic increase in expenditures compared to the previous year and highlights the financial dominance of the English top-flight.
Gomez stated in a video posted by La Liga president Javier Tebas on Twitter: “We are aware there is a lot of talk about how LaLiga’s economic control means Spanish clubs sign less than Premier League clubs.
“The reality is that at La Liga we want clubs to spend what they can afford and generate themselves, that is to say their own revenues.
“It is true that shareholders are also allowed to support the club and put money in to spend more than the club itself can generate, but within certain limits.”
The Spanish duo of Real Madrid and Barcelona long dominated transfer markets and the Champions League, but lately they have been sliding down the rich list for football clubs, with poorly-supported Manchester City now in first place.
Liverpool and Manchester United, along with France’s Qatar-owned PSG, make up the rest of the top five.
Fallen giants Barcelona, whose fortunes have dipped as Messi’s career has waned, can only come in seventh place.
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