The Spanish league has launched a fierce attack on the Premier League, accusing its clubs of relying on an economic model that is “based on losses” and causes unprecedented inflation in the transfer market, after English top-flight sides widened the spending gap with the rest of Europe during the summer window.
Record Spending Gap Between La Liga and Premier League
Transfer market figures show that La Liga clubs spent around €748 million this summer, compared with nearly €4 billion by Premier League clubs—a huge financial chasm that highlights the contrasting economic approaches of the two competitions.
La Liga Chief Executive: "The English Model Is Based on Losses"
Javier Gomez, chief executive of La Liga, told Spanish newspaper El Mundo: “The Spanish model relies on academies, while the Premier League model is based on losses.”
He added: “If Premier League revenues are double those of La Liga or the Bundesliga, it would be logical to spend around €1.5 billion, but they are spending nearly €4 billion. This money does not come from revenue but from owners, and that is a permanently loss-making model that creates inflation across the entire football sector.”
Premier League Dominance in Global Spending
Gomez pointed out that the gap is no longer limited to the biggest clubs. He noted that the seven highest-spending clubs in the world this summer all belong to the Premier League, with Real Madrid ranking eighth and Barcelona tenth. Even Ipswich Town, newly promoted to the English top flight, spent close to €200 million—a figure that most Spanish clubs would struggle to reach.
La Liga's Financial Fair Play Concerns
La Liga officials stressed that the financial control rules they have applied for years are designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of clubs. They argue that English spending, financed by owner money, drives up player prices and negatively affects the transfer market across all European leagues.
