English clubs splash out more than £1BN on transfers from overseas clubs last year as staggering costs are revealed

ENGLISH football splashed out more than £1billion on players from overseas clubs last year.

Figures compiled by Fifa show that English clubs were the world’s biggest spenders on international transfers in 2019.

Eden Hazard, moved from Chelsea to Real MadridCredit: Reuters

And that came despite a 22 per cent FALL in the value of players brought into the Prem and Championship.

According to the latest Fifa global market transfer report, which only applies to players crossing international borders, England accounted for almost 20 per cent of the entire world transfer spend.

Prem and Championship sides spent £1.16bn on players from other countries, out of a record global total of £5.6bn.

The value of those deals was down by more than a fifth from the sum spent to acquire players in 2018 but was still well clear of the £980m spent by Spanish clubs.

French football was the biggest beneficiary of English spending power, with deals totalling £304m between the two countries.

They included the £54m Spurs paid Lyon for injury-plagued midfielder Tanguy Ndombele and Arsenal’s £72m commitment for Nicolas Pepe.

Arsenal paid £72m for Nicolas Pepe from LilleCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Eden Hazard’s move from Chelsea to Real Madrid helped the balance of payments between England and Spain remain in the Prem’s favour, with sales of £259m outweighing the spend of £203 on players including Manchester City’s £72m purchase of Rodri.

But despite receiving £740m from foreign clubs, English sides still made a net transfer “loss” of a fraction under £420m in the year.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk