If you look at the biggest spenders in European soccer this season, you will see a surprising name near the top: Brighton and Hove Albion.

Brighton has spent $189 million so far in this summer transfer window. That’s more than Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen have spent on players combined this transfer window. Brighton have broken their club record transfer fee twice by signing Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle for $43 million and Leeds United’s Georginio Rutter for $52 million.

Brighton has a newfound ability to spend, and the Seagulls are taking advantage. The transfer window for Brighton could prove massive for the southern club’s ambitions in England.

Bloated and frequent transfer deals with Chelsea

Chelsea’s transfer business has been one of the biggest stories in global soccer since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought the club in May 2022. The Blues have spent well over $1 billion on players since then. No club has benefited more from Chelsea’s spending spree than Brighton.

One of Boehly and BlueCo’s first major moves after buying Chelsea was to sack Thomas Tuchel in September 2022. To replace him, the Blues spent over $30 million to bring in Graham Potter and his staff from Brighton. Before that, Chelsea sent $72 million to the South Coast club for left-back Marc Cucurella.

The following summer, Chelsea broke the British transfer record by signing Moises Caicedo from Brighton for $145 million. They gave another $32 million to the Seagulls for Robert Sanchez, who was Brighton’s third-choice goalkeeper at the time.

In total, Chelsea has spent over $325 million on Brighton players and staff in the last two seasons. The Seagulls spent some of that money last summer on players like João Pedro and Carlos Baleba. Even after those two major purchases, Brighton was still in the green with plenty of money left to spend. This summer, we’re seeing Brighton spend the rest of it.

Extra funds opening from Europa League qualification

The UEFA Europa League doesn’t have nearly the amount of prize money up for grabs as the Champions League. Still, it is a significant boost for smaller clubs who qualify, including Brighton.

The club made an estimated $11 million from the Europa League—not including revenue from ticket sales, special edition shirt sales, new sponsorships, and other potential new revenue streams. 

Admittedly, this is not a huge amount of money. It is money the club has never had before though. More importantly, it gave Brighton a goal to reach for.

The goal used to be top-10 finishes for Brighton. After getting a taste of Europe last season, the goal has changed. Brighton now sees itself as a club that should be challenging for Europe every season. To live up to that expectation, it must spend. 

Tony Bloom sets out goals in Brighton transfer window

Before Brighton started selling players for more than $130 million and qualifying for European competitions, they had Tony Bloom. The Brighton-born businessman bought a majority stake in the club in 2009. He is the club’s current owner-chairman. During Bloom’s tenure at the club, Brighton has risen through the ranks from the EFL League One to the Premier League. 

Bloom also oversaw the construction of the 31,000-seater American Express Stadium where the Seagulls play their Premier League matches today. He funded the entire $120 million stadium project with an interest-free loan to the club. These sorts of loans have been a consistent part of Bloom’s tenure as club owner-chairman. Overall, Bloom has put over $523 million into Brighton via interest-free loans.

Tony Bloom may not be as well-known as Manchester City’s owner Sheikh Mansour or Todd Boehly at Chelsea, but he is a billionaire who is willing to spend all the same. We are seeing that this summer with a massive Brighton transfer window.

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