Report: Foreign clubs benefit from English tranfers

According to a new report, half of player transfer spending by English Premier League clubs in 2005 has gone to overseas clubs; £140 million to non-English clubs compared to £155 million (60% of total spending) in 2004.

"Wage bills are ... under better control in English clubs than their counterparts in other major leagues. Overall, the Premiership clubs have spent over £285 million in 2005, a moderate increase on 2004 and 2003 but lower than the levels of spending we saw in 2002 and before,” Dan Jones, partner in the Sport Business Group at Deloitte that carried out the analysis, said.

Paul Rawnsley, also of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “In financial terms, there is good news for clubs below the top tier in England, with around £50 million of Premiership spending going to Football League clubs."