–
In football, the summer transfer window means big business and by 12 August 2014, Europe’s top 5 countries had spent $1.36 billion on player transfers according to FIFA TMS. This is remarkably similar to last year when that number was 1.35 billion by the same date. So far, England is top of the list for 2014 summer transfers with $507 million, up from $455 million last year.
Spain comes second after a massive shopping splurge. Spanish clubs have multiplied their spending more than 3.5 times compared to last year. Money-fuelled moves for superstars has been responsible for this enormous increase. James Rodriguez moved to Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee after the World Cup, reported to be around €80 million while Luis Suarez left Liverpool for Barcelona for around €94 million. France and Italy both experienced big drops of around 64 percent compared to last year.
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at [email protected].
Thank you.
Statistics and facts on the English Premier League
The English Premier League constitutes the highest level of professional football in England. It is considered to be the most-followed and best-known football league in the world. The Premier League in its current format, comprising 20 clubs, was formed in 1992, breaking away from the Football League, which was originally founded in 1888. Amongst the so-called “Big-Five” leagues in Europe, which include the top-tier football leagues of England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France, the Premier League generates the highest revenue with around 3 billion euros in revenue in the 2011/12 season. It is also considered the most valuable football league in the world by Branddirectory which ascribes the league a brand value in excess of four billion U.S. dollars.
The English Premier League has a strong presence in Asia where about one third of the leagues global TV audience is located. The broadcasting deals in Asian countries are forecasted to bring in almost 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in the period from 2013 to 2016.
Kit sponsorships of all Premier League clubs combined had a value of almost 166 million GBP in 2013/14. The overallaggregate attendance at the games in the 2012/13 season was at 13.64 million. On average, games drew almost 36 thousand spectators. Only the German Bundesliga had a higher average per game attendance amongst the top European soccer leagues.
One of the most popular clubs is Manchester United. The brand value of the team is estimated at 837 million U.S. dollars in 2013 by Branddirectory. Forbes ascribes the team a total value of almost 3.2 billion U.S. dollars. In 2012, Manchester United generated half a billion U.S. dollars in revenue and with an average attendance of more than 75 thousand exceeded the league average attendance by almost 30 thousand.
You will find more statistics at Statista
