€100m is the new €50m: How football transfers and finance have changed in the last decade

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Football Today

20 July 2026

Premier League clubs are renowned for spending heavily during the transfer windows, and this summer has continued in the same vein.

A quick comparison between the business conducted in summer 2017 and 2026 highlights how football transfers have changed in recent years.

Lucrative broadcasting deals have helped

Premier League

clubs blow other major European leagues out of the water in the transfer market.

In 2017, €50m was enough for

Manchester City

to buy Bernardo Silva. He subsequently earned legendary status with the club.

Fast forward to this summer and

City

have paid €135m for

Elliot Anderson

. That is a lot of money for a functional midfield player.

Elsewhere,

Chelsea

recently agreed a €137.6m deal to sign

Morgan Rogers

from Aston Villa. Given that he is far more creative than Anderson, they will feel they have got value for money.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes that clubs are now engaging in a contest to determine who can establish a new record transfer fee.

“It sets a benchmark,” Maguire said. “Forest wanted to be close to the record level because they felt

was a critical player, a player very much in demand.

“That has been surpassed by the

fee – only slightly – but it allows the club to say, ‘this is the record English signing’. So, there’s an element of bragging rights involved.

“Because the

is so wealthy, it’s relatively rare that a club is in financial straits where it has to sell.

“In the case of English players, you’ve then got the homegrown rule, which gives clubs more flexibility. You put all of those factors together, and it means the

is a big driver.”

Intriguingly, the huge outlay on players in recent years has not translated into

clubs dominating the Champions League.

English clubs have lifted the trophy just three times in the last ten seasons, which is a poor return when considering how much they have spent.

Splashing the cash on a player does not necessarily guarantee success – a point evidenced by some of the biggest moves of the past few years.

Jack Grealish was the top transfer in 2021, but failed to live up to expectations at

Man City

. It has been a similar story with many other big-money moves since then.

Liverpool’s huge outlay on Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz last summer did not deliver the desired results, although they still have time to prove their worth.

This summer’s biggest spenders will be hoping that their sizeable investments ultimately pay dividends.

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