Even the Eredivisie spends more on signings than LaLiga

In other times, Real Madrid, Barcelona and even Atlético de Madrid were at the forefront of European football in investment in transfers. And LaLiga, always below the Premier League in television revenue, was one of those that spent the most on the entire continent. However, the economic crisis derived from the coronavirus and the austerity policy of some entities have brought the national championship to a critical record. Of the five major European leagues, the Spanish is the one that has moved the least amount of money in this winter market. Not only that, even the Eredivisie has spent more than LaLiga Santander. Something unheard of in past seasons, which reveals the complicated moment that the twenty clubs in the competition are experiencing.

So far, the most expensive signing of the winter market in Spain has been that of Carlos Fernández for Real Sociedad, with an outlay of ten million euros. His arrival is also linked to the departure of Willian José, for which the San Sebastian club intends to enter a succulent amount in the coming months. After him, Sevilla has invested 5.5 million fixed for Papu Gómez; Villarreal, two for Capoue; and Celta, 500,000 for Augusto Solari. Point and end.

Yes, there have been more movements, but they are all transfers. They highlight the new destination of Kubo in the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, the arrival of Saponjic to Cádiz or Dembélé in Atlético de Madrid. They all have something in common: there is no economic transaction in the operation, except for testimonial amounts, salary agreements or variables depending on their performance or active participation in the team. Even so, there are also no excesses of loans and there are still teams, even those in need in the leaderboard, that have not made any moves. One more sign that sports directors are tied hand and foot and that they can barely offer significant amounts to convince the negotiating club.

No movements or expectations

A few hours after the transfer market comes to an end, there is no notable name on the table. Yes, there are many transfers still under debate, such as Florentino's or Oliva's, both to Valencia. Barcelona continues to debate whether the incorporation of Eric Garcia, that everything indicates that he will stop for free at the Camp Nou at the end of the season, although Ronald Koeman has already asked him before the notorious defensive problems suffered by the team due to injuries and poor performance. However, market expectations indicate that LaLiga will not accelerate in the final stretch and that it will close this window with few movements.

La Premier, economic powerhouse

The COVID-19 crisis not only affects Spain. In England and the rest of the countries of the European continent it also hits sports entities hard, most of which still do not have a single advertising revenue. Even so, they maintain a significant amount of spending in the market, unlike LaLiga Santander. According to the Transfermarkt portal, the Premier League has invested almost 80 million euros in reinforcing their templates so far in January.

Manchester United have confirmed the signing of Diallo, for which he will pay € 21M fixed and other pending in variables. The City has invested 8.5 'kilos' in Filip stevanovic, far left of the Partizan. Although these operations have already been agreed upon previously, the economic movement computes for the current window by the competition models. This is not the case, for example, in the Kondogbia case, which occurred outside the market, but could be registered earlier due to the fact that Spain allows signing in the current season, as long as there is a serious injury involved or a clause payment.

Another notorious movement is that of Said Benrahma, new West Ham United player for about 23 million euros. Its incorporation implies more cash movement than all of LaLiga Santander in this period. The club has also invested € 1.6M in Frederik Alves and 1.7M in the loan of Jesse Lingard, from Manchester United. Another noteworthy movement is the officiality of Morgan samson, Marseille midfielder, to Aston Villa for more than 15 million.

The rest of the major European leagues

The Bundesliga has also tightened its belt somewhat, although with more than double the cost of LaLiga. Highlights the arrival of the talented Szoboszlai to Leipzig for twenty million euros or Koné al Monchengladbach for € 9M. Still more has been invested in Italy. Nicolo Rovella forced Juve to pay 18 million to Genoa; Man landed in Parma for 13; or Maehle in the Atalanta, upon payment of € 11M to Gent. Transfermarkt estimates the disbursement of Series A at 78 million, compared to 47.7 in Germany. It should be remembered that the Spanish tournament does not even reach € 20M.

France also has reason to be concerned. Ligue 1 is in a complicated television rights crisis, which can seal the income of the clubs in the coming years. To this must be added the coronavirus, which also does not economically forgive the competition. Even so, there have already been 15 signings, with a total expenditure of 29 million euros. A relatively low amount, but higher than that of Spain. Krepin Diatta, for which Monaco pays € 20m to Bruges, and Franco Tongya, who passes eight million from Juventus to Marseille, are the most striking.

The Eredivisie brings out the colors to LaLiga

Surprising as it may seem, yes, the Eredivisie has spent more millions on signings this winter than LaLiga Santander. It has some cheating. Although 53 players have reached the championship, quite a few more than Spain, one of them collects the vast majority of money spent. His name is Sebastien Haller, former West Ham center forward, for whom Ajax has spent 22.5 million euros. It is the most expensive transfer in its history and the main person responsible for the € 24.5M outlay made by the Dutch championship in this market. Despite this, it is striking that a single signing is capable of moving more money than an entire tournament. And more if this is the Spanish, who saw arrive as great stars to Joao Félix, Hazard, Dembélé or Coutinho not so long ago …