€570m changes hands in Europe

– Europe’s big five leagues spent €570 million in the winter transfer window, with England writing the biggest cheques, splashing out a total of €178.2 million, Fifa announced this week.

However, spending in the English Premier League decreased in the period by 65% compared to 2018 which was a record.

Italy was the second-biggest spender with €144.6 million (+459%), followed by Germany on €112.5 million (+56.7%), Spain with $112 million (-70.1%) and France on €95.4 million (+104.6%).

Compared to January 2018, the volume of international transfers to the five major championships increased by 6.4%, with 282 clubs in the English, Italian, Spanish, German and French top flights completing an average of 2.1 incoming international transfers per club. – AFP

There was really no doubt that social media would jump onto champions Manchester City’s 6-0 drubbing of Chelsea last weekend.