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9 months ago
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This 2024 transfer window will definitely have been placed under the sign of spending in Ligue 1. Little experienced in this exercise in winter, the French clubs in unison broke a record dating from 2017. Helped by the arrival of Julian Draxler (€36 million) and Gonçalo Guedes (€30 million) to PSG, and the return of Dimitri Payet to OM (€29 million), their transfer balance had at the time shown a disbursement greater than €170 million . The winter of 2019, a few months before the appearance of COVID, also proved to be lavish with expenditure estimated at 131 million euros, while a year ago, Ligue 1 clubs had spent a little more than 130 million, positioning itself just behind the Premier League in the ranking of the most greedy championships.
And this winter, therefore, a new record was broken in France. In total, more than 192 million euros were invested by French clubs, out of a contingent of 61 players listed by the site. Transfermarkt. A colossal amount, rarely observable at this time of year in France, but which could still increase in volume. Through disguised and varied maneuvers, sometimes aimed at circumventing the rules of financial fair play, certain clubs let their malice speak. In this sense, several arrivals in the form of paying loans were made this winter in Ligue 1. OL, for example, spent 11.7 million euros on Belgian international Orel Mangala, to which could therefore be added the 17.5 million euros emanating from its purchase option.
OL, the biggest spending club on the planet
If Ligue 1 dominates the ranking of the biggest spending championships, OL, the biggest spending club on the planet, is no stranger to it. During this winter window, the Rhone club in fact dropped 68 million euros to recruit Malick Fofana (€17 million), Gift Orban (€12 million), Adryelson (€3.5 million), Lucas Perri (3, €25 million), Nemanja Matic (€2.6 million), and therefore Orel Mangala. Without forgetting that Saïd Benrahma, still in the dark even if his arrival seems more than compromised, should also have inflated the bill with his paying loan from West Ham (€5 million with a purchase option of €12 million). €). In the end, OL achieved the most sumptuous winter transfer window in its history, and the 3rd all periods combined.
Furthermore, PSG, usual host of the French transfer window – even if it remains calmer in winter for several seasons – spent 40 million euros to afford the two young Brazilians Lucas Beraldo and Gabriel Moscardo. OM spent 22 on Merlin (10), Moumbagna (8) and Garcia (4) while Rennes offered the Matusiwa – Seidu package for a little over 26 million. In England, the Breton club would have placed 2nd among the most spending clubs this winter, behind Crystal Palace (€30 million). An astonishing passivity for the English clubs, masters of the exercise, but which is partly explained by a reluctance towards the rules of financial fair play. This winter, the Premier League spent €120 million, Serie A, 108 million, La Liga, 86, and the Bundesliga, 82. A far cry from Ligue 1 and its almost €200 million.
