In the wise words of Kendrick Lamar, money trees is the perfect place for shade and that's just how I feel. Apparently, Saudi Arabia and England feel similarly to Kendrick. According to Anadolu Agency, there was a total of $7.36 billion spent on new players from June 1 - September 1 across the globe, with roughly $3 billion of that being spent by English and Saudi Arabian clubs alone. This summer saw unprecedented amounts of spending on players the average supporter had never even heard of. Fortunately, the transfer window has ended and players are stuck with their clubs until January at the earliest. Should we expect this window to be the norm, or will restrictions prevent this extreme spending from happening again?
How We Got Here
The writing had been on the wall long before 2023 - football is a business and money talks. Transfer values have been steadily increasing (and inflating) and it is seemingly becoming more difficult to challenge as one of the world’s best without being one of the world’s richest. However, Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United in the twilight of his career (I’m still so salty I flew my ass to Manchester last year thinking I would see him in person, only for him to refuse to come off the bench) to join Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr at an unprecedented $213 million annual salary in January. The Saudis seemingly invested all their money in one player. Little did we know, they were just getting started.
The Premier League has been steadily growing into the world’s most-watched league, generating astronomical revenues from its global viewership. The English league has also seen considerable European success recently, with 11 teams playing in the final of the Champions League, Europa League, or Conference League since 2018 (Spain has the next-most appearances with 6). With this success comes bigger prize money solely for playing in the Premier League any given season. Combining the prize money with incredibly rich owners has led to Premier League sides being able to purchase virtually any player in the world.
What Happened This Summer
The 2023 summer window saw more of the same as the Saudi league became the “new MLS”. A group of aging stars, along with a handful of players in their prime and young talents, all left various clubs in Europe to form Saudi Arabian “superteams” behind massive contracts (Neymar even gets paid $500k for every Instagram post promoting Saudi Arabia!). Players have faced backlash for joining the Saudi league, some critical of selling out and “ending” their careers too early, while others for political and moral reasons in the Middle East. The Saudis spent more than all but one league in the world this summer. It is yet to be determined whether their business will be successful in the long run, but they’ve made a statement to the rest of the world.
This summer, we also saw Lionel Messi make a historic move to the United States with Inter Miami. The MLS had to be innovative to acquire Messi - rather than just splashing cash at him, his contract includes media rights and a percentage of merchandise sales. It was a big gamble by the MLS to attract new fans, which it certainly has this summer. It’ll be another story if the fanbase stays/continues to grow in the next couple of years after Messi inevitably departs.
The Premier League went nuts this summer, spending nearly $2 billion on new players. Lower-level sides spent more than some of the top clubs in the world outside of England. TV rights have made clubs so much more valuable, and they simply won’t be able to compete in the Premier League without a significant investment in new talent. We’re already seeing its effect on newly-promoted teams. Sheffield, Burnley, and Luton Town have a combined 1 point four games into the new season. How do you compete in the world’s best league when one of Chelsea’s new players this season cost more than your entire team’s value?
What Happens Next
We saw the Chinese Super League attempt the same project as the Saudi Arabian league roughly a decade ago and it failed miserably. A handful of players joined the CSL on massive contracts and they were hardly heard from again. Chinese soccer gained virtually no popularity after the move and it stunted their youth development.
The Chinese scenario is the worst-case outcome for the Saudi Arabian project, but their ceiling is much higher. Between their summer spending frenzy, Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and LIV Golf threatening the PGA, the Middle East is making a deliberate investment in global athletics. Saudi Arabia is also geographically closer to many of its players’ home countries in Europe, especially compared to the MLS or China, making it an enticing place to play. Their nice weather is also a draw. The biggest threat to the Saudi league will always be European football - players grow up yearning to play for/against the biggest clubs in the world like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, etc., but they simply won’t have that opportunity in the Saudi league. The next few years will be crucial to the long-term success of Saudi Arabian football as they manage their newly-set expectations while continuing to invest in their future.
Discussing the future of Premier League spending is difficult for me - I feel morally conflicted as I support a team in the world’s most profitable league while other teams around the world struggle to keep up. Wouldn’t my time and money be better spent supporting a club in Germany (for example) where the fanbase is arguably more passionate, and my fandom makes more of a difference? My hope is that Financial Fair Play continues to strengthen and prevent teams from spending such exuberant amounts of money on players. American sports are far from perfect, but one thing they’ll always have over European soccer is their parity. Frankly, I’m a bit tired of seeing the same teams in soccer dominate simply because they spend more money than the majority of their competition.
Long story short, the days of excessive spending on players will continue for the near-future. I am optimistic that won’t always be the case, but this summer’s transfer window will forever be historic as setting a new standard for purchasing new talent.
