Daily Times

LONDON: English Premier League clubs flexed their financial muscle over the rest of Europe by brushing off the after-effects of reduced revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic to spend over £1 billion ($1.4 billion) for the sixth consecutive summer transfer window.Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United headlined a stellar cast of stars, including RomeluLukaku, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, making their way to England with even clubs in Europe’s other ‘top five’ leagues, feeling the strain of a talent drain.According to financial experts Deloitte, gross spending from Premier League clubs hit its lowest level since 2015 at £1.1 billion, driven by an increase in free transfers and clubs willing to take lower fees to shed some of the burden from their wage bill.However, the net spend of £560 million was over 10 times that of La Liga (£55 million), Serie A (£50 million) and Ligue 1 (£15 million), while Bundesliga clubs made a net profit of an estimated £35 million.The backbone of the Premier League’s financial power has been television rights deals.By securing another three-year domestic TV rights deal from the 2022/23 season worth £5.1 billion, the Premier League has achieved stability in an uncertain market.French clubs are still reeling from the collapse of their contract with Spanish-Chinese companyMediapro last season.A new deal with Amazon and French broadcaster Canal+ has been sold at a fraction of the price before the arrival of Lionel Messi to Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain.The shadow of the failed European Super League (ESL) project also hung over the window.