Premier League clubs spent 33x more than MLS in window

The Premier League’s summer transfer window officially closed late Friday night. In total, English top-flight teams combined to spend about $2.6 billion on new players.

While each club shelled out different amounts of money, the figure represents an average of $130 million per Premier League team. It also works out to around $8.5 million per player as well.

Although the figure is a ton of money, it is less than what English teams combined to spend last season.

In fact, English top-flight clubs racked up a total transfer bill of $3.2 billion during the 2023/24 campaign. This figure does include January moves as well. Nevertheless, teams were relatively subdued in their spending during this particular month.

Overall, this summer’s transfer total was about 16% less than the previous year.

Average Premier League deal close to top MLS transfer fee of the year

Premier League teams combining to spend $2.6 billion this summer is particularly impressive when comparing the figure to other leagues. For instance, Major League Soccer clubs racked up a total transfer bill of just $77 million.

This means that the English league spent 33 times more money than MLS. The transfer window for the North American division previously closed earlier in August.

Because there are more MLS teams than Premier League clubs, their averages work out even smaller. The 29 North American teams averaged to spend about $2.6 million during 2024. There are just 20 teams in the English league.

Atlanta United made the biggest move in the division by signing Aleksey Miranchuk for $13 million. It was also one of the most expensive deals in MLS history. The Russian star made headlines by claiming that he wanted to sign with the club because he is a hip-hop music fan.

However, this figure means that the average Premier League transfer is near Major League Soccer’s top move of the year. Tottenham Hotspur made the biggest splash of all English clubs during the summer window. The North London side paid Bournemouth about $71 million for star striker Dominic Solanke.

Saudi Pro League teams also outspending MLS by some margin

Comparing transfer moves between the Premier League and MLS may not be completely fair. After all, the English division is essentially the most powerful soccer league in the world. Nevertheless, the vast distance in spending between the two divisions is certainly telling. MLS, despite their growth in recent years, still lags far behind the top European leagues.

The North American league, however, also falls behind in spending when compared to similar divisions. The Saudi Pro League (SPL) is perhaps the biggest threat to MLS at the moment. Both divisions are typically viewed around the world as a place for aging stars to finish out their careers.

Nonetheless, the SPL is also drastically outspending MLS as well. The Middle Eastern division collectively spent $330 million during the current window. This figure is four times the amount that MLS combined to spend. SPL’s spending could also still increase in the coming days as well. SPL clubs can still sign foreign players up until September 7th.

Photo credits: IMAGO / Visionhaus : IMAGO / Sportimage