Premier League set to shatter spending records
London, July 26: Premier League spending looks certain to shatter all previous records before the current transfer window closes as England’s superpowers reload in an increasingly frenzied arms race.
Fuelled by lucrative television contracts, currently, worth around £8.3 billion ($10.8bn, 9.3bn euros) and unprecedented revenue streams at home and overseas, the 20 Premier League teams have spent like never before in the weeks since the summer transfer window opened.
Already close to £800 million has been paid for new players, with the single window record spend of £1.2 billion well within reach with over a month before the market closes.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, backed by his club’s Abu Dhabi-based billionaire owners, has embarked on a historically lavish spending spree, splashing out £215 million thus far.
That eclipsed the record spending total for a British club in a single transfer period, racing past the £168 million mark which, not surprisingly, was also set by Guardiola last season.
City seem certain to shatter the £221.5 million forked out by Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 - which stands as the biggest outlay in one transfer window. ‘Sanches decision after pre-season’ Singapore: Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti said Wednesday he would not be rushed into a decision about Renato Sanches’s future and they would sit down together after the preseason. It came after the Portuguese midfielder reportedly conceded Tuesday he was unhappy at Bayern and expressed an interest in AC Milan.
Speaking in Singapore where Bayern have been playing a series of pre-season games, Ancelotti said, “We said that after the preseason together, we can make a decision. Yesterday Renato played very well and I hope he can continue to improve.”
Neymar’s future up in air Madrid: Gerard Pique has sparked panic at Barcelona after appearing to backtrack on his ‘he stays’ tweet his 222 million on teammate Neymar, target of a blockbuster transfer by Paris Saint Germain. PSG are trying to lure the 25year-old Brazilian to France and are ready to pay off
euro ($256.8 million) release clause and make the player the bestpaid footballer on the planet.
“It’s a personal opinion from the conversation that I had with him and my intuition,” Pique said.
“But it’s not official,” he added. “And it’s not for me to say if he’s going to stay or not.”
Neymar departed the stadium without addressing reporters after starring in a 2-1 friendly win over Juventus on Saturday.
Inter listening to Perisic offers Singapore: Inter Milan boss Luciano Spalletti on Wednesday gave the clearest indication yet that Ivan Perisic could leave, saying the Serie A club will listen to serious offers for the winger.
The 28year-old Croatian international has been strongly linked with a big-money move to Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United, while Premier League champions Chelsea are reported to be in for Inter midfielder Antonio Candreva.
“Sure there are rumours but we want to keep Perisic, he’s a very important player for the team. We are counting on him to start the new season,” Spalletti told media in Singapore, where Inter play a glamour preseason friendly with Bayern Munich on Thursday.
“But if somebody comes in with a very difficult offer to reject then we will consider that, but of course we need to find a valid alternative for Perisic as well.”