New Delhi: The Premier League has once again underlined its financial dominance on world football as it shattered records with more than £3bn spent during the summer transfer window. The final tally confirmed after a flurry of late deals on deadline day, closed at £3.087bn, eclipsing last year’s total by more than £1bn.
It’s a figure that dwarfs the combined outlay of Europe’s other top leagues with the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 spending less in total than England’s top flight. The window’s most eye-catching move came late on deadline day when Liverpool sealed a British-record £125m signing of Newcastle striker Alexander Isak. His switch not only broke domestic records but also helped push the overall figure past the £3bn mark.
Liverpool’s business didn’t stop there. Arne Slot’s side, relatively quiet last summer, unleashed a spending spree worth £415m marking the most ever by a single club in one window, breaking Chelsea’s £400m benchmark set in 2023. Newcastle quickly reinvested, snapping up Brentford forward Yoane Wissa for £55m.
Other notable deadline day transfers included Fulham smashing their club record to sign Brazilian winger Kevin for £34.6m, Manchester United adding Belgian keeper Senne Lammens for £18.1m and Aston Villa securing loan deals for Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott. Tottenham picked up PSG striker Randal Kolo Muani on loan, while Arsenal added Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie.
Who spent the most?
The defending champions Liverpool’s dramatic U-turn in transfer policy has been the biggest story of the summer. After barely spending in Slot’s first window, the Reds splashed out heavily on Isak, Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz (£116m), Hugo Ekitike from Frankfurt (£79m) and several others.
Last season’s Premier League champions have got to work in the transfer market this summer ✍️ pic.twitter.com/p4mqnz3gne
— Premier League (@premierleague) September 1, 2025
In comparison, Arsenal spent £255m to strengthen with Sporting striker Viktor Gyökeres and Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi while Chelsea invested £285m but cleverly balanced the books, making £288m back in sales to finish with a small profit. Meanwhile, the Gunners also recorded a hefty net spend of £246m.
Premier League leaves rivals behind
The scale of Premier League spending has again highlighted the widening financial gap between England and the rest of Europe with most major signings coming from abroad, feeding money into other leagues but stripping them of top talent.
Promoted clubs gamble on survival
It wasn’t just the elite throwing money around in fact the newly promoted Sunderland which is back in the Premier League after eight years shocked many by spending £162m which is more than half the league and even more than Manchester City. Burnley and Leeds also pushed past £100m in spending, desperate to avoid the fate of promoted sides in recent seasons who went straight back down.
Former striker Chris Sutton called Sunderland’s approach “astonishing” but admitted it gives them a genuine chance of survival. With all the clubs spending heft amount the summer of 2025 will be remembered not just for record-breaking fees but also for the Premier League’s growing stranglehold on the global transfer market.