La Liga president Javier Tebas calls out the Premier League and Saudi Arabia, claims they are 'ruining the transfer market'
La Liga president Javier Tebas has blasted the Premier League and Saudi Arabia for 'ruining' the transfer market.
Premier League clubs have traditionally been big spenders in the transfer market, and things are no different this summer. As on August 3 (as per footballtransfers), six clubs from the league were among the 10 highest spenders in the ongoing transfer window.
Arsenal top the list with a net spend of €231 million, followed by Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal with €163 million. The other Premier League clubs in the top 10 are Tottenham Hotspur (€136.3 million), Manchester United (€116.7 million), Newcastle United (€116 million), Liverpool (€112 million) and Chelsea (€112 million).
Only one La Liga club - Real Madrid (€128.5) million has made it to the top 10. League president Tebas took a dig at the spending power of Premier League clubs and Saudi Arabian sides, who are new entrants. He was quoted as saying by BarcaUniversal:
"The Premier League and Saudi Arabia are ruining the transfer market."
SPL sides have attracted top talents like Karim Benzema, N' Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino since Cristiano Ronaldo was snapped up by Al-Nassr in December.
When does the 2023-24 Premier League season start?
The 2023-24 Premier League season - the 32nd edition in competition history - kicks off on Friday (August 11) night when three-time defending champions Manchester City travel to Burnley.
The opening weekend of games sees last year's runner-ups Arsenal hosting Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur travelling to Brentford on Sunday, Chelsea hosting Liverpool on the same day and Manchester United hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday.
Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton Town are the three promoted sides from the Championship.
Pep Guardiola's City - coming off a treble-winning 2022-23 season - are gunning for an unprecedented four-peat. The Cityzens have been the standout team in the English top flight in the last six seasons, winning five titles.