La Liga Insider Claims: Premier League Model = Debt + Unsustainable Operation, Unsustainable in the Long Run
Data shows that the Premier League spent £3 billion this summer, exceeding the total expenditure of all other top European leagues—Spain, Italy, Germany, and France—whose combined spending was only £2.9 billion.
One sign that the gap is still widening: over the past five summer transfer windows, the Premier League accounted for 46% of the total spending of the top five leagues. Now this figure stands at 51%, but there are signs that other leagues and top clubs on the European continent will not stand idly by as this gap grows.
A senior executive from a European club said there are mixed feelings about the Premier League's dominance. On one hand, the talent drain has become increasingly obvious; on the other hand, European clubs can also earn huge transfer fees by selling even mediocre players.
However, the source believes that the Premier League's growing dominance does not necessarily mean a higher possibility of another Super League—English clubs do not need a Super League, and their efforts to help re-establish one may even backfire.
Nevertheless, the shadow of the Super League will continue to remind English clubs of the growing dissatisfaction among continental teams over the financial gap.
Last season, Premier League champions Liverpool earned approximately £175 million in domestic and overseas TV broadcast revenue, while Bayern Munich received £72 million, Napoli £69 million, and Paris Saint-Germain £42 million.
Despite the growing global interest in the Premier League, the Bundesliga now has to give away the UK broadcast rights for its Friday night matches for free in an attempt to attract viewers' interest.
La Liga has "taken a step back in attracting new stars and players". The article points out that Villarreal, one of La Liga's participants in this season's Champions League, has just broken its club transfer record by signing Georgian striker Giorgi Mikautadze from Lyon.
The transfer fee was only €30 million (approximately £26.1 million), far less than what teams like Bournemouth and Brighton are willing to pay—even though these two clubs are not participating in any European competitions this season.
La Liga insiders have sought to claim that the English model, which leads to persistent debt and uncontrolled spending, is not sustainable in the long run. However, predictions that its bubble would burst have existed almost since the Premier League was founded in 1992, and the outcome has always been disappointing.
