The amount of money exchanged in England during the European transfer window was low enough that financial analysts felt the need to explain why business was so quiet. A total of $118 million was spent on transfers this January, $20 million less than last year. Discounting loan deals, you’ll notice that none of the league’s biggest clubs spent much at all. Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United didn’t spend a penny, while Liverpool only bought two players for modest sums. It follows then that relegation-threatened clubs felt more of a need to beef up their rosters, no doubt in anticipation of the end-of-season dogfight they’ll face to stay in the Premiership.
Alan Switzer, a senior consultant at Deloitte, said the reason Europe’s biggest clubs didn’t spend much during the transfer window probably had more to do with a lack of available players. At midseason, clubs are concentrating on fighting for titles and positions that qualify them for Europe so they aren’t keen on selling first-team talent.
Incidentally, the biggest deals of the transfer window involved Spanish club Real Madrid. Real bought three South American players (which is during their off-season) for a combined $58 million, while unloading the unwanted Ronaldo to AC Milan for $9.73 million. The Spanish giant won’t, however, make a penny from the transfer window’s biggest deal: David Beckham’s blockbuster move to the L.A. Galaxy, which could be worth up to $250 million over five years.