Football Transfer Spending Breaks Records

Premier League transfer window spending reached a record £1.165bn this summer, 34% up on last year.

The figures were published by accountants Deloitte hours after the transfer deadline late on Wednesday night.

Total (LSE: 524773.L - news) outlay by England's top-flight clubs had already topped £1bn earlier in the day - the first time they had passed this level in one transfer window.

Teams went on to conclude deals worth an extra £155m on the last day of the window - also a record - as they scrambled to add to their squads before the 11pm cut-off point.

The last-minute signings included David Luiz returning to Chelsea for £30m.

Last season Premier League clubs spent £870m in the transfer window.

The summer window spending this time has already surpassed the total of £1.045bn spent over the whole of the 2015/16 football season.

Meanwhile spending by clubs in the second tier Championship also reached new highs - at £215m it was nearly twice the previous record, and higher than the French top-flight total of £165m.

The latest record-breaking splurge by Premier League clubs has been powered by the new TV rights deal for the division.

It helped Manchester United (NYSE: MANU - news) set a new world record with the £89m signing last month of French midfielder Paul Pogba.

Dan Jones, Partner in the sports business group at Deloitte, said: "This is the fourth consecutive year the summer transfer spending record by Premier League clubs has been broken.

"As has been the case for a number of years now, the increases in broadcast revenue, with the 2016/17 season being the first of the new broadcast deal cycle, is the principal driver of this spending power.

"Membership of the Premier League has never been as lucrative as it is today."