A recent report by UEFA revealed Premier League’s accounted for 60% of a record spend on player transfers last summer, and an executive from UEFA believes amortisation could lead to sustainability concerns.
A UEFA Executive Director has admitted the surge in spending from Premier League clubs this past summer transfer window ‘raises concerns’ following a record amount of player transfer spend.
In UEFA’s European Club Talent and Competition Landscape report, Andrea Traverso, Executive Director of Finance, Sustainability and Research, believes the emergence of a “two-speed system” has created a wide difference in the financial power of the Premier League and the rest within Europe.
This is due to Premier League clubs spending on average €24m (£20.65m) per player, whereas other European leagues, such as La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga, spend €4m-€5m per player.
Total spend on transfers this summer in Europe was a record €10bn, an 8% increase from the €9.3bn spent in the summer of 2025. For money received on players transfer fees, this was also a record last summer, with European clubs earning a total €10.3bn.
English clubs accounted for 60% for global transfer fees in 2026, significantly ahead of the second-highest spending league, Italy’s Serie A, at 12%. Germany’s Bundesliga accounted for 7%, France’s Ligue 1 was 5%, and Spain’s La Liga accounted for 3%.
But while transfer spend and money received from players has reached all-time highs, Traverso warns that this is a concern primarily because of how clubs are spending their money on transfers.
Amortisation a sustainability issue?
Amortisation is the accounting and payment method many football clubs have adopted to pay or receive the total sum for a player transfer.
Instead of a club sending or receiving the total amount up-front, the fee is typically divided across the total length of the player’s contract who is being signed/sold. For example, Elliot Anderson’s £116m figure paid by Manchester City to Nottingham Forest would be paid £23.2m per-year, because Anderson signed a five-year contract with Man City.
This means that the annual amortisation fee – the £23.2m paid out by Manchester City to Nottingham Forest e.g. – would be accounted for by the payee clubs’ yearly financial results. This is in order to comply with financial regulations.
The Premier League had Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR) which mandated English clubs not to exceed losses of up to £105m across three years. While PSR has since been replaced with Squad Cost Ratio rules, amortisation enabled Premier League clubs more flexibility per year to divide funds on seperate transfer fees or wages for new contracts to players and staff.
However, Traverso in the UEFA report warns amortisation could prove to become a lot more risky if clubs continue to take on short-term cash debt as transfer values continue on their current trajectory.
“Transfer values continue to rise sharply, particularly in the English market, increasing future pressure on club financial results through higher amortisation charges,” said Traverso.
“These costs are currently being offset in part by significant transfer profits, but this creates a more fragile model, with clubs increasingly dependent on continued market inflation and liquidity. This risk is amplified by the fact that many acquisitions are not paid for immediately; payments are often deferred over several years, while transfer receivables may be factored to generate short-term cash. The result is a growing level of transfer debt and a greater reliance on future inflows to finance past investment.”
