Transfer market out of control, UEFA raises the alarm: Premier League “bubble” a risk for Europe

The huge rise in player transfer costs creates a “fragile” model for English clubs, with potentially negative consequences across European football. The alarm comes from UEFA’s head of financial sustainability, Andrea Traverso, following the annual “European Club Talent and Competition Landscape” report.

Club finances across Europe have become more “fragile” due to the boom in amounts spent and the rise of debts linked to transfer operations, with British clubs particularly exposed. Total spending of the last summer transfer window for the first time exceeded the €10 billion ceiling, up 8% compared to 2025 and up 43% compared to 2019, before the pandemic.

This flow is in fact not distributed uniformly. English clubs are responsible for almost half of total spending. And almost half of that figure stayed within the country, because they are the only ones in Europe able to afford these prices. The value of transfers within the English market was greater than the sum of all other European national markets. The report speaks of “two-speed” and “polarization” of the market.

While on the one hand this reflects the financial supremacy of the Premier League, on the other it makes its football more vulnerable to corrections in the global transfer market.

“Valuations continue to rise significantly, especially in the English market, adding pressure on clubs’ future financial results, due to higher amortization costs — Traverso underlines. — Currently these costs are partly offset by considerable capital gains, but all of this creates a more fragile model. Clubs depend more and more on market inflation and liquidity.”

This risk is amplified by the fact that many purchases are not settled immediately. Payments are often spread over several years. The result is a rising level of debts linked to transfers and greater dependence on the flow of future revenues to finance past investments.

One of the most surprising data points is that English clubs paid on average €24 million for each player bought, while the other major European leagues have an average of less than €5 million. A clear signal of the Premier’s buying power, but also of its exposure to a collapse in market values.

The report does not contain only alarm signals. Last season, for example, overall attendance in European stadiums reached a record 242 million spectators, marking a 15% increase compared to the pre-pandemic period. The Premier is on top, naturally, with 15.8 million attendees, followed by Germany, Spain and Italy.