European Top 5/Transfers: investments down 43% between summer 2019 and summer 2020 (CIES)

"As predicted, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought a considerable drop in the level of investments on the transfer market. In comparison to summer 2019, the drop observed during the last transfer window for the five top European championships was 43%, with a minimal fall in England (-10%) and a maximum in Spain (-75%)," states the CIES Football Observatory in its Monthly Report entitled "The real impact of Covid on the football players' transfer market," published on 07/10/2020.

This study compares the transactions carried out during the last transfer window by teams from the European Top 5 (Premier League, LaLiga Santander, Serie A TIM, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 Uber Eats) with those concluded since January 2010. The comparison covers the volume of investments, the type of transfers (permanent, temporary, free, paid, etc.) and the price of players.

"Though a record amount for the winter transfer periods was invested in 2020 (€1.3bn), the spending incurred for big-5 league teams during the last transfer window (€3.3bn) was down at the level recorded in 2015 (nearly €3.4bn)," added CIES.